


30 Days of Chimney and Maddie (Madney)

by Richonnesmints



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-08 17:58:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 32,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17391011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Richonnesmints/pseuds/Richonnesmints
Summary: 30 days. 30 one-shots of Chimney and Maddie.





	1. Day 1: Holding Hands [Loving Hands]

**Author's Note:**

> HI. I'm sorry for such a long note, but this is all really important, so please read if you don't mind. 
> 
> So, this is probably the biggest fanfic project I’ve done in a really long time and I know it’s supposed to be a thirty day challenge, but there honestly might be some days where I can’t actually post anything because life happens and all. But I WILL try my best to post chapters as much as I can. I made a promise to myself even before I began to plan all of this out. A lot of these will be way shorter than most of the fanfics I write. And a couple chapters might possibly be rated M, but I’ll definitely warn you all at the beginning.
> 
> Also, I kind of made my own list of prompts, so it’s not like any of the lists you’ll find on tumblr or any of those other sites. Of course, some things might be similar, but what I’m trying to say is, I didn’t just use a template of someone else’s ideas, So, if you happen to want to use it for your own challenge or whatever, go for it.
> 
> ONE LAST THING AND I’LL SHUT UP. Besides the last few prompts, none of them are in chronological order. Chimney and Maddie are in an established relationship in some of them, while in others, they’re kind of in the middle of being friends/in a relationship.

Title: Loving Hands

 

Maddie looked over at Chimney before she eyed his hand.

Maddie slowly moved her hand and grabbed it. His hand immediately relaxed into hers as they interlocked their fingers.

She looked over at him and he grinned at her before he focused on the tv again.

Before she had met Chimney, holding hands had been something that Maddie had hated… because the hands that she had to hold for so long weren’t worthy of being held. They didn’t deserve her love.

But with Chimney, Maddie slowly began to fall in love with that type of contact… because his hands were soft, gentle, and they treated her with the most respect in every situation; whether they were relaxing on the couch, laughing together, having sex, or even during the very rare occasions they argued, those hands were always full of love. They were kind, sweet, and beautiful… not in an attractive type of way- although Maddie loved them that way too- she never truly thought that hands could be so pure and angelic. Chimney’s hands were exactly those things. Those hands deserved all of her love and appreciation.

And Maddie had different ways of showing Chimney just how much she loved his hands and him in general.

Sometimes, she would just hold his hand. Other times, she would run her fingers up and down the back of it. And on special occasions, the ones where Maddie just really wanted to put her lips on his skin, she would grab both of his hands and plant soft kisses on every single inch of them.

And Maddie really wanted this particular time to turn into one of those occasions. 

She moved closer to Chimney and positioned herself so she could easily grab both of his hands. 

Maddie brought one hand up to her mouth and kissed the back of it before she gave the same amount of attention to the other one.

Now, every single kiss meant something different, and Maddie was sure that Chimney had figured it all out too.

The kisses on the back of his hands were just a little something to make sure Chimney was paying attention to her. 

She looked over at him and he was watching her closely with a small smile on his face.

Then, Maddie began to place kisses along his knuckles. Those kisses were always quick, but still sweet all the same.

Kissing his knuckles was her way of saying she was thankful for him.

Maddie moved to his fingers next. She always made sure she moved slowly and gave every finger the same amount of attention.

The sweet kisses on his fingers was Maddie’s way of telling Chimney that she appreciated him.

Maddie turned both of his hands over. This was where she would really take her time. 

She planted heavy kisses across the front of his fingers before she kissed his palms a few times.

The front of his hands meant everything to Maddie. Those were the parts that held her hand so gently, the parts that held Maddie close on the long nights when all she could do was cry, the parts that touched her back when they hugged, the parts that touched her cheek when they kissed, and even the parts that touched every inch of Maddie’s body when they had sex.

Those parts of his hands were never rough, cold, or unsafe. They never scared or hurt Maddie.

The front of his hands were always loving, warm, and safe. They always made Maddie happy.

And whenever Maddie took her time kissing those parts, that was her way of telling Chimney how much she loved him.

She looked up at Chimney and “I love you, too,” was written all over his face.

Maddie began to smile. She loved how they could communicate without actually speaking.

She kissed his palms a few more times.

And then, Maddie’s little shower of kisses was over. 

She looked over at Chimney and hoped she hadn’t gone overboard with all the kisses, but he obviously didn’t seem to mind. He had the biggest grin on his face.

Maddie smiled back before she moved as close as she could get to Chimney. She kissed his neck and rested her head against his shoulder.

Her smile widened when Chimney grabbed her hand, kissed the top of it, and held it in both of his own. 

God, she just really loved his hands.


	2. Day 2: First Kiss [Wanting More]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to give a shout out to Audrey because I listened to her 9-1-1 playlist while I wrote this, and I even used a song in this fanfic from that exact playlist, so bless you Audrey.

Title: Wanting More

 

Maddie crossed her arms and groaned as she rested her head against the back of the couch.

She silently scolded herself for not taking the chance to kiss Chimney when he was actually at her apartment.

And now he was back at his, and she was left all alone at hers and her thoughts just wouldn't stop.

She had been wanting to kiss Chimney for a while, but she hadn't worked up the courage to make a move.

But when Chimney had been over, kissing him was the only thing she could think about. She almost did kiss him after he had hugged her, but she had backed away at the last second. That had made things awkward for a few seconds because Chimney had caught onto what was happening, but he didn’t make a big deal out of it. Maddie was so thankful for that too.

She just hoped Chimney didn’t think she backed away because she didn’t want to kiss him; that wasn’t it at all. Her anxiety yelled at her to back away even though she didn’t want to.

She knew that Chimney liked her, and she was almost positive that he knew that she liked him too. 

Maddie wanted to cross that imaginary line with Chimney. She felt like she was ready.

Kissing him was just one small step of many that they would take if their relationship moved forward. Even though Maddie was nervous, she was also excited too… excited because Chimney would support her and go her speed at every step.

Maddie groaned again.

She wish she would’ve taken that chance to kiss him.

She sighed as she picked up the remote and began to surf through the channels. Nothing seemed to catch her eye, and that wasn’t helping the thoughts that swarmed through her head.

Images of Chimney’s face entered her mind. His eyes. His lips. His smile... that one smile she could pick out from all the rest, the one that was for her and only her.

Maddie tried to imagine what it would be like to kiss him. She had spent a lot of time staring at his lips lately, and she just knew that he was a good kisser. Of course, she didn't know that from experience, but Chimney was good at everything. Kissing was definitely something he was good at.

Maddie also knew that kissing him would be quite the experience. If he would kiss her like he always touched her… so tenderly… then she was positive that she would be in love with the idea of kissing him too. 

An idea ran popped into Maddie’s mind, and she shrugged it off at first because it was crazy. 

She wasn’t going to go to Chimney’s apartment just to kiss him. Besides, they were going to see each other again very soon, and she could just kiss him then.

But then again, Maddie knew her thoughts were only going to annoy her more if she just put it off.

So, maybe driving all the way over to Chimney’s apartment was exactly what she was going to do.

The best thing about it all was that Maddie actually had a car to drive to his place. Eddie had picked Buck up for work earlier that afternoon, so his truck was just sitting outside. He had already told her that she could borrow it whenever she wanted, so Maddie was going to finally take him up on his offer. 

Maddie stood up and grabbed her phone off the table beside the couch. She sent Buck a quick text to let him know she was going to borrow his truck and was going to Chimney’s. Within about ten seconds, he had answered and just sent a “thumbs up” emoji.

She walked over to the table and grabbed Buck’s keys. She made sure she locked up everything up nice and tight before she headed over to his truck.

Once Maddie was in his truck, she began to wonder if she she should text Chimney and let him know she was coming over. After of thinking it over a little, she decided against texting him. Besides, she knew he was going to be home anyway because he told her that was where he was going.

Maddie started the truck, and as soon as she did, music blasted through the speakers and she jumped. She immediately twisted the knob to zero and her heart was about to beat out of her chest.

“Jesus, Buck,” she said. “Who doesn’t turn down their music before they get out of the car?”

Maddie sat there for a minute or so until her heart began to beat normally again. She shook her head and laughed a little before she began to drive.

About fifteen minutes later, she was stopped at a red light and Maddie began to eye the radio again. It had been a long time since she had actually listened to the radio and sang along.

She placed her hand on the knob and turned it up a little. At Last by Etta James was playing.

Maddie began to smile; that was one of the first songs she had learned to sing. It was actually really hard for her to sing at first, but as she got older, the song only got easier.

She turned up the volume and began to sing along as the light turned green.

A minute or so later, she was at another red light and Maddie had really begun to sing along so loud that she could barely even hear the radio.

There were cars lined up next to Maddie, but she didn’t care how silly she looked as she sang. She was having so much fun, and she realized how much she missed doing simple things like that. 

“You smile, you smile, oh and then the spell was cast,” she sang, hitting every high note perfectly. 

And that line right there was just enough for Chimney’s smile to enter Maddie’s thoughts again.

The line turned green, and the song was over shortly after.

Maddie also realized that she was only a couple minutes away from Chimney’s apartment. In fact, it was so close, she could see the apartment complex just right down the road.

And soon, Maddie was in the parking lot, and she quickly found a parking space. Before she turned the truck off, she turned down the radio.

“See, Buck? This is how you turn down a radio before you get out of the car,” she said as she was getting out of the truck.

Maddie made her way into the apartment building and there were people crowded around the elevator, so she just decided to take the stairs. Chimney only lived on the second floor, so it wasn’t like she had to walk up a lot of stairs.

The more stairs she climbed, the more nervous she got. She knew she was overthinking, and she tried to come up with answers for every concern and question that her brain came up with.

“What if you wasted all your time coming over here? What if Chimney isn’t even home?” The little voice in her head asked.

No. No. Chimney was definitely home. He had told her that was exactly where he was going.

“What if Chimney doesn’t want to kiss you?” The voice asked again. 

Maddie let out a breath. She didn’t know if he wanted to for sure, but the way Chimney looked at her… she felt that kissing her was exactly what Chimney wanted to do. 

“What if you’re just going to screw everything up?” It asked. 

Maddie bit the inside of her cheek. That was always a possibility; but even if there was the small chance that Chimney truly didn’t want to kiss her, then she was sure that he wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. Chimney wasn’t that guy. She knew that he would continue being her friend either way.

What if Chimney doesn’t like you?” The annoying voice asked.

Maddie laughed a little. Her brain was definitely crossing the line with that one. Chimney definitely liked her. He adored her. She was his best friend. Maddie was even convinced that he had feelings for her too. 

Once Maddie climbed up the steps, she slowly made her way to his apartment. 

208\. 

Maddie was right in front of his door. A long, wide piece of wood was the only thing between her and Chimney. 

She tried to imagine what he was doing. He was most likely sitting on the couch watching one of the billion movies that he loved. 

Maddie imagined him smiling whenever he found something funny. 

She took a deep breath. She couldn’t just stand out there and daydream all day.

Maddie raised her right hand and knocked on the door. After standing there for a good fifteen seconds, she had wondered if she had knocked too softly. 

She was about to knock again when Chimney opened the door. 

Maddie looked him over and he was wearing a black sweater and blue pajama pants. His hair was wet. He had just gotten out of the shower. 

He tilted his head in confusion. “Maddie? Is everything okay?”

God. She realized she really should’ve told him that she was coming. He was worried.

She smiled. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I just wanted to see you.”

Chimney immediately relaxed and he started to grin. “Come in.”

Maddie walked in, but she stopped just a couple feet or so behind Chimney as he shut the door.

“So, uh, did you really-” Chimney began to say, but he turned around and stopped talking when he saw how close Maddie was to him.

“Miss me that much?” He finally got out as his back hit the door.

Maddie knew that it was originally supposed to be a joke, but he had barely whispered the last part of his question.

She shrugged and gave him a smile. “Maybe I did.”

They were standing so close, and they never did that unless they hugged. And even then, they never stood too close for long.

“Maddie…” Chimney whispered.

Standing so close to her was obviously affecting him because he bit his bottom lip and Maddie had never seen him do that before.

She grabbed his hand and looked at it while she spoke.

“I really want to try something.”

A part of her expected him to speak, but the other part of her knew that he was waiting for her to continue. She looked up at him and he had a questioning look on his face.

“I almost did it before you left my house, but I got a little nervous,” she admitted. 

Chimney knew exactly what she was talking about because his eyes widened.

“Maddie, if you’re not ready for this, then don’t do it. The last thing I want is for you to do something that you’re not ready for.”

“I’m okay. I want this,” she said.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

Maddie moved even closer to him and their heads were only inches apart. Her eyes moved from his eyes to his lips before she nodded.

“I want to be more than just your friend, Chim,” she admitted.

Chimney let out a breath and began to stare at her lips.

“I want to do this. I want to cross that line with you. I just really want you.”

“Then, I’m yours, Maddie.”

She slowly moved her head to close the small gap between them. Her lips touched his and she felt butterflies in her stomach as she let her lips linger for a few seconds. 

She was right; Chimney’s lips really were soft.

Maddie finally pulled away from him and she realized that she was still holding his hand. He moved forward and started to massage her hand with his thumb.

He slowly raised his other hand and rested it against her cheek. His eyes moved to her lips again.

“Can I-” He began to ask, but Maddie interrupted him. 

She already knew what he was asking.

“Please,” she said as she nodded.

Chimney lowered his head and kissed Maddie again. He let his lips linger longer than Maddie had during their first kiss.

When they pulled away, they were both out of breath.

Chimney chuckled nervously. “So, you didn’t really come over to see me… you just came over for my lips, right?” He teased.

Maddie lowered her head and blushed. ‘Yes… no… I mean, I kind of came for both,” she said before she laughed.

Chimney grinned. “I’m kidding… so are you gonna stay for a while or are you just gonna kiss and run?”

Maddie smiled and shook her head. “I can stay for a bit. What are we gonna do?”

“Uh,” Chimney began as he looked over his apartment. “I didn’t know you were coming, so I don’t really have anything planned. We can watch tv or a movie… maybe order some food if we get hungry?”

“We could just watch tv… and make out?” Maddie suggested.

Chimney cleared his throat and looked at her with a surprised expression. “Or that. We could definitely do that.”

Maddie made her way over to the couch and Chimney followed her. They sat down and they started kissing again even before they got the tv turned on.

And Maddie was definitely fine with that.

Maddie even realized she was right about another thing a little while later; Chimney was definitely an amazing kisser… even better than she had imagined.


	3. Day 3: Reading a Book Together [One Book]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the characters from the book they read are made up. I thought making up something random would be better than having them mention a book that people haven’t heard of before. I just didn't want anyone to get confused.

Title: One Book

 

Maddie laughed for the fifth time in about ten minutes and Chimney couldn’t stop the stupid grin from forming on his face.

God, he was so glad that she wasn’t paying attention to him, especially since he kept grinning like an idiot at her every two minutes.

Truthfully, it was because he loved the sound of Maddie’s laugh. He loved knowing that she was truly happy. 

Maddie’s head rested on Chimney’s lap as she held a book while his own book rested on the armrest of the couch.

This had become their daily routine ever since Chimney had suggested they should do something together that Maddie enjoyed, instead of just watching movies all the time. When she had mentioned that she really loved reading, Chimney was more than happy to do that with her. Maddie even went out and bought two copies of the same book, so they could both read together. And while they read, they always talked about what they liked or disliked. 

They had been doing this for over three weeks, and they had only gotten through one book. It was mostly Chimney’s fault. It wasn’t because he was a slow reader at all, he just mostly found himself more interested in watching Maddie read than paying attention to his own book.

He just loved her reactions and how she would sometimes gasp or mutter things under her breath when she was angry or excited. 

Another thing that distracted him was how beautiful Maddie was. It was a little hard to concentrate on reading the book when her face was only a couple feet away from him.

Maddie laughed again, but it sounded like a giggle that time. 

Chimney smiled. Her laugh was definitely one of his most favorite sounds in the world.

“Okay. Tom and Delilah are hilarious trying to ice skate,” Maddie said.

“Woah, woah, woah. Spoilers!” Chimney shouted.

“Oops. I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Just let me know when you finish chapter seven, and then we’ll talk.”

Chimney looked at his book and his eyes widened. He wasn’t even close to being on chapter seven. 

“Uh, yeah… that might be a little while. I’m only on chapter three.”

“Chim,” Maddie said as she sat up. “You were on chapter three yesterday and we’ve been reading for about forty-five minutes now.”

She had caught him.

“Do you not like this book? You don’t have to read it if you don’t like it. You didn’t have to read the last book either. You actually don’t have to do this with me at all, especially if you don’t enjoy it.”

The last thing he wanted her to think was that he was bored.

“No, no,” he said quickly. “I really like the book, and I love doing this with you. I just get distracted… a lot.”

Maddie look puzzled. “Is it work stuff on your mind?”

“It’s nothing like that. I, uh…” he trailed off.

“What is it, Chim?”

“It’s you. You distract me,” he confessed.

“Oh,” Maddie said softly. “I know I get a little excited sometimes, and I’m sorry. I’ll be quieter.”

Chimney instantly began to feel bad and he shook his head.

“Maddie, no. Don’t ever apologize about being excited. I wasn’t talking about that.”

“Oh?” Maddie said in the form of a question.

Chimney sighed. “You’re reading and you’re happy… and every time you laugh, I have to stop and look at you because it just makes me so happy to see you like this. You honestly have no idea, Maddie… and you’re also really beautiful and that distracts me too.”

Maddie had a few tears in her eyes as she moved over and kissed him.

“Come here,” Chimney whispered as he pulled Maddie onto his lap. He planted kisses all over her face and wrapped his arms around her when he was finished.

They stayed like that for several minutes until Maddie pulled away and put Chimney’s book on the table in front of the couch.

“I have an idea,” she said. 

“What is it?” He asked.

Maddie moved and grabbed her book before she laid down. Half of her body was on Chimney’s lap while her head rested on the armrest.

“What page were you on?” She asked.

“Fifty-two. Why?” He asked as she flipped through the pages. “You’re not going to read out loud, are you?”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” she answered.

“But why?”

Maddie smiled up at him. “Because if I’m the only one with a book, and I’m reading out loud, that means you have to pay attention to me… and we both know that won’t be a problem for you. And it also means that you’ll kind of be reading the book too.”

Chimney grinned. “Okay, but you’re five chapters ahead. Why would you want to go back that far and read something you’ve already read just because of me?”

She laughed. “Maybe because I really really love you… and I won’t mind. I can reread the same book twenty times.”

“Maybe I really really really love you too,” he said before he bent down to kiss her forehead.

Maddie smiled and shook her head as she began to read. Chimney moved his hand and ran his fingers through her hair, softly playing with it.

Chimney realized something; he could definitely get used to reading books like this.


	4. Day 4: (Just) Sleeping Together [Sleepover]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, a part of me is very sorry for this one because they do more talking than actually sleeping, but I’m also not because I love when these adorable clueless best friends talk to each other. BUT at least they are in bed together most of the time ;)

Title: Sleepover

 

Maddie laughed out loud at a scene from Police Academy. That was the movie she was watching with Chimney. 

She noticed that it was unusually quiet because he wasn’t laughing with her. She looked over, and to her surprise, Chimney was asleep.

Maddie had noticed how tired he looked when he first walked into her apartment. 

She tried to figure out what to do. She definitely wasn’t going to let him drive home, especially since he was so tired. She would feel terrible if something happened to him.

Sleeping on the couch wasn’t ideal either. It wasn’t comfortable at all; Maddie knew because she had slept on it a few times.

And she did have another bedroom, but that was Buck’s. She wasn’t even sure if he was coming home or if he was going to stay at Eddie’s all night. But she still couldn’t put Chimney in there in case he showed up.

So, the only place left for Chimney to sleep was her bed.

Maddie definitely didn’t have a problem with this, but she was a little nervous. They had never actually slept together or even stayed the night with each other.

But then again, they had hugged and if they were both okay with that, then sleeping in the same bed a couple feet apart wasn’t something to make a big deal out of, right?

Although, Maddie often questioned the state of their relationship, it wasn’t like Maddie had anything more on her mind. She just wanted to make sure Chimney was safe.

Maddie turned off the dvd player and tv before she looked over at Chimney. A smile began to form on her face as she watched him. His head rested against the back of the couch, but he was going to eventually fall over because of the way he was sitting.

She slid over and tapped his shoulder three times.

“Chimney,” she said softly.

He stirred a little, but he didn’t open his eyes.

Maddie tapped his shoulder a little harder.

“Chimney,” she said a little louder.

He opened his eyes this time, and he immediately yawned.

“I’m sorry I went to sleep,” he apologized. “I had a long day at work.”

Maddie gave him a smile. “Don’t be sorry. I understand. We can finish the movie another time.”

He grinned. “I’d love that.”

He stretched before he stood up. “Well, I should probably get going.”

“I really don’t think it’s safe for you to drive,” Maddie said.

“I’ll be fine,” Chimney said before he yawned.

“Chim, you’re too tired.”

He shrugged. “I’ve been more tired than this before, and I managed to get home.”

Maddie’s eyes widened. Her brain immediately gave her images of losing Chimney, and she desperately tried to shake them off.

“Chim, oh my god.”

“But I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“I won’t be worrying about you because I’m not letting you leave,” she said.

Chimney tilted his head in confusion. “Maddie?” 

“You’re too tired, so I’m not about to let you get in your car and drive.”

Chimney opened his mouth to protest, but he yawned again.

“See?” Maddie asked. “I can’t let you leave. If something happened to you, then…” she trailed off. She knew she would end up revealing too much about the way she felt about him. “I just don’t want you to leave. Can you please stay? I’d feel a lot better if you did.”

Chimney sighed and a small smile began to form on his face. “I’ll stay.”

Maddie let out a breath of relief. “Thank you.”

His smile grew wider. “You’re welcome… so this will be our first official sleepover, but the only difference is, I didn’t get to bring my pajamas… and I won’t be able to stay up all night and gossip and talk about crushes.”

Maddie laughed and shook her head. “Not everyone does that at sleepovers. Some people actually sleep.”

“Is that what you did?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I mean, I’ve never been into gossiping or telling people things about myself that I considered personal… because if I said something to eight other girls, then all eight-hundred people in the school would know. And I didn’t really see the point in staying up all night just to talk about things that probably weren’t even true to begin with.

Chimney gave her a small smile and nodded in understanding. “Well, when I went to sleepovers, I wasn’t exactly included in all their conversations because I always seemed to miss the gossip, so I never knew any of it. And don’t get me wrong, I did have crushes, but I always acted like I didn’t have any. That was always better than saying the name of the girl I liked, because then she would find out sooner or later… and I already knew that school would be hell… everyone would pick on me because none of those girls ever liked me. Most of them didn’t even know I existed.”

“Chimney, you can’t be serious.”

He shrugged. “I always liked girls that were way out of my league, so I guess it’s my own fault…”

“I’m really sorry, Chim. Everyone is always so mean in high school.”

Chimney smiled. “Not everyone. You definitely weren’t.”

Maddie smiled a little. “Why do you think that?”

“I know you well enough to know that you were never mean to anyone. I honestly picture you as someone who would walk up and sit beside the new kid who was sitting all alone.

Maddie couldn’t help but smile at that. He was definitely right. He knew her so well.

“You’re right about that. That’s actually how I met one of my best friends. She was sitting alone at the end of the table and I was the only one who went and said hi to her. But I always made sure the new kids felt welcome. I hated to see how everyone treated them."

Chimney grinned. “See? You’re sweet. You’ve always been sweet.”

Maddie smiled and lowered her head. She could feel her cheeks getting slightly hot.

“So…” Chimney began. “Is it okay if I just sleep on the couch?”

“About that… I’m not letting you sleep here, and it’s not because I don’t want my couch to get runed. It’s because it’s so uncomfortable to sleep on. I know. I’ve slept there.”

Chimney frowned. “Maddie, why did you sleep on the couch?”

Maddie bit the inside of her cheek before she responded. “It was just on those nights where I felt safer down here.”

Chimney nodded slowly. “So, am I going to be roommates with Buck again?”

“Actually, no.I don’t even know if he’s coming home, but I’m not putting you in there with him anyway. Besides, he only has one of those air mattresses and the two of you sleeping on that thing wouldn’t be comfortable at all.”

He looked around and chuckled nervously. “So, uh, where do you want me to sleep?”

Maddie cleared her throat before she began to speak. “There’s always my bed…”

Chimney’s eyes widened. “Maddie, are- are you serious?”

She nodded and gave him a smile.

“I don’t know,” he said softly.

“We’re both adults. I think we can both handle this.”

Chimney nodded. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. I can just sleep on the couch.”

“I can’t because that thing will give you back pain, and I can’t let you sleep there knowing how awful you’ll feel at work tomorrow.”

Maddie stood up and grabbed his hand. “I’ll be fine, and I know that everything will be okay.”

Chimney glanced at their hands before he looked at Maddie. 

He sighed. “As long as you’re one-hundred percent okay with this, then I am too.”

“I am. I trust you, Chim.”

“I’m really glad that you do,” he said.

Maddie smiled at him and he grinned back.

She let go of his hand. “I think I’m getting sleepy too. Let’s go upstairs.”

She walked toward the steps and she heard Chimney walk behind her. They both walked upstairs and before they got to her bedroom, she turned around. She didn’t expect Chimney to be so close, and her back hit the wall as she stumbled backward.

She laughed nervously. “I, umm, I actually need to change into something more comfortable…”

Chimney immediately backed up. “Okay. Just take your time. Do whatever you need to do.”

Maddie walked into her room and grabbed some shorts and her favorite old, blue shirt and headed to the bathroom. She quickly changed out of her clothes and put her old ones in the hamper and brushed her teeth.

Maddie left the bathroom about three minutes later and Chimney was waiting for her in the hallway.

“There’s an extra toothbrush under the sink in there if you want to use it,” she told him.

He nodded and Maddie decided to just go ahead and go to her bedroom. She turned on her little night light in the corner of the room.

Once Maddie was in there, she pulled down the covers and made sure Chimney had a pillow on his side. She laid down and covered up.

Maddie heard the bathroom door open a few minutes later, and she heard Chimney walk to her room.

He stopped at the doorway and spoke.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“I am,” Maddie answered.

Chimney slowly made his way to Maddie’s bed and laid down. He also laid on his back and pulled up his side of the covers.

“Is that light over there going to bother you?” She asked. “I usually keep it on because I don’t really like to sleep in the dark.”

“Keep it on. I’ll be fine,” he told her.

“Maddie,” He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah, Chim?”

“What if you wake up and my arm is wrapped around you? Would that be a problem for you?”

Maddie was about to answer, but Chimney spoke again.

“I’d never do it on purpose, but I’ve been known to cuddle with people in my sleep. It just happens… and I just wanted to warn you and apologize in advance, so I’m sorry.”

Maddie looked over at Chimney and he was staring at the ceiling. He was obviously embarrassed.

She thought that his cuddling problem was actually really adorable. 

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be sorry.”

“But won’t that be… weird for you?” He asked.

“No,” Maddie answered right away.

It was basically like hugging, except they were going to be lying down and it would last a lot longer than a hug… but they would also be asleep for most of it.

“Will it be weird for you?” She asked a few moments later.

“It’ll be more embarrassing than anything, especially if that’s not what you want.”

“Chim, I never got a chance to tell you what I want.”

He looked over at her for the first time. 

“What if we just… cuddle now so that way it won’t be weird for you when we wake up? I can’t lay here knowing you’ll feel bad for something, especially when I… want it,” Maddie said softly.

“Maddie… are you sure about this?” He asked once again.

She had to admit that she loved the way he was always checking on her and making sure she was okay with whatever they were going to do before they actually did it.

“Yes,” she answered.

She rolled on her side, so she wasn’t facing Chimney. She felt the bed shift right after.

Maddie’s heart began to race when she felt Chimney’s body against hers. He slowly moved his arm around her and she relaxed into him.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, are you?”

“Yeah,” he answered.

Maddie hadn’t actually cuddled with anyone like that in a very long time, but she realized that she loved it… being wrapped up in Chimney’s arms made her feel calm and safe. She already knew that she was going to get a lot of sleep that night.

They laid in silence after that, and Maddie was sure that Chimney had fallen asleep until he spoke.

“I just wanted to thank you,” he whispered.

“For what?” Maddie wondered.

“For worrying about me. I’ve never had anyone like you before.”

Maddie wasn’t really sure what that meant; she knew that a lot of his coworkers were his friends. Some of them were even his best friends, and Maddie knew they all cared about him. But she was sure that he was putting her in a different category than everyone else.

“I could say the same thing about you. I’ve never had anyone like you before either.”

“Maddie, can I say something?” He asked after a long moment of silence.

“You can say anything, Chim.”

“This is my officially my favorite sleepover I’ve ever been to.”

Maddie smiled. “And we didn’t even make it to the gossip or the crushes.”

“Oh no. That’s too bad,” Chimney groaned dramatically.

“We can get to all of that stuff next time.”

“Next time?” Chimney asked surprised.

“Of course. We didn’t even get to have a proper sleepover. You’re wearing jeans to bed, Chim.”

Chimney laughed. “I’ll bring my Spider-Man pajama onesie next time... and before you ask, yes. I do actually have it. I found it on sale, and it was a really good deal.”

Maddie laughed. “I guess I’ll have to go and buy some good pajamas then because I don’t exactly have a matching set.”

“So, are we gonna have a sleepover and pajama party?” Chimney said.

“I guess we are.”

“I can’t believe I’m excited about a sleepover. I feel like a kid again.”

“I’m excited too, but for a different reason,” Maddie admitted.

“And what is that?” 

Maddie softly bit the inside of her cheek before she decided to confess.

“I’m just looking forward to the part where I get to cuddle with you at the end of the night.”

Chimney coughed a little and Maddie wanted to turn around and face him; she ultimately decided against it. Their faces would be way too close, and she didn’t know how she would feel about that.

“So, a sleepover, pajama, and cuddle party? That sounds great to me,” he joked when he finally regained his composure.

“It’s a date, then,” Maddie said.

She didn’t exactly mean to say that, but she was just going to roll with it.

A date…” Chimney said.

“Is that a problem for you?” She asked.

“No, not at all. That sounds perfect. At least the crush conversation that happens at sleepovers is taken care of,” Chimney joked. “It actually turned out good for me for once… even though the girl is clearly out of my league.”

Maddie was completely surprised by the fact that Chimney thought that she was out of his league. She couldn’t believe it. 

“And here I thought the guy was the one that was out of my league,” Maddie answered.

“Someone is clearly wrong here,” Chimney suggested.

“That someone would be you,” Maddie said.

“Wrong.”

“Chim, how could you think that I’m out of your league?”

“Because…” he began. “You’re amazing, and I’m just… me.”

“I don’t even know what that means, but you’re so amazing, Chim. Please never forget that.”

“Maddie…” Chimney whispered.

Maddie could have sworn that his grip tightened around her, and her heart began to race.

She really needed to sleep before Chimney would notice just how much he was affecting her.

“You know, this is supposed to be a sleepover… we should really do the sleeping part,” she said before she laughed.

“Yeah,” Chimney agreed, and she knew that he was smiling. “Maddie?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I hold your hand?” 

“Of course you can,” she answered.

Chimney grabbed her hand and their fingers interlocked. 

“I never told you, but this is my favorite sleepover I’ve ever had too,” Maddie said.

Chimney laughed. “I’m honored.”

“Goodnight, Chimney.”

“Goodnight, Maddie.”

She snuggled into him just a bit more, and soon, Maddie realized that she loved cuddling with Chimney a lot more than she should have.


	5. Day 5: One Distracting the Other [Distraction]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JUST A WARNING: this is more on the mature side. there is nudity and sexual themes.

Title: Distraction

 

Maddie frowned as she watched Chimney fill out some papers. The firehouse was planning on buying new ambulances and some supplies, and he was in charge of letting them all know what new things they would need.

Chimney let out a groan as he turned to the next page. There was a stack of about thirty pages, and he had to go through and read and write things as he went. He was only on the fifth page or so.

Maddie got up and scooted her chair close to his. She touched his arm.

“Chim,” she said softly. “When do you have to turn this in?”

“Next week,” he said as he looked at her. 

“Next week? You know you don’t have to get this done all in one day.”

“I know, but if I don’t do it all now, I’ll just keep putting it off and I’ll have to just do it the night before.”

He went back to reading the papers. 

Maddie could tell he was stressed, and she hated seeing him like that.

She stood up and placed her hands on his shoulders. She began to lightly massage them.

“Will you still be able to concentrate and write if I do this?” She asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Chimney answered.

Maddie’s hands worked over his shoulders, and Chimney let out a breath.

“God, that feels so good,” he said.

She began to apply a bit more pressure and he moaned… and that affected Maddie’s brain as well as her body. She just really wanted to touch him everywhere, just so she could hear his soft moans feel the room.

Maddie raised her hands and placed them on his head. She began to lightly massage his scalp. 

“You really don’t have to do this, but I really appreciate it. Thank you,” Chimney said.

“You’re welcome, and I know, but you’re stressed… and I don’t like seeing you like this.”

Chimney grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. He let his lips linger far too long, and that definitely wasn’t helping with the tingling that went through Maddie’s body.

“Am I being grumpy?” Chimney asked after he was finished.

“Only just a little, but it’s okay,” Maddie said, a smile forming on her face. “Why don’t you take a break?”

Chimney moved his head so he could look at her, and he was actually pouting.

“I really wish I could, but I should just go ahead and get all of this finished now,” he said before he turned around and paid attention to the papers again.

Maddie frowned. She wished he wasn’t being so hard on himself.

Either way, Maddie wouldn’t let him forget about the papers. She would make sure he would get it finished.

She sat down and moved her head towards him. She kissed his cheek a few times before she moved closer to his ear.

“You know that I’ll make sure you’ll get these finished, right? I won’t let you forget,” she whispered. “In fact, I’ll ride with you to work on the day it’s due just to make sure the papers get there.”

Chimney shivered as her hot breath touched his ear. He turned his head to look at her and their lips were only inches apart.

“You’d really do that?” He asked.

Maddie kissed his bottom lip before she kissed his chin.

“Of course I would,” she whispered when she pulled away.

Maddie’s hands went for the buttons on Chimney’s shirt and she slowly started to unbutton them.

“Are you trying to distract me?” He asked, a smile forming on his face. “Because if you are, then it’s definitely working.”

Maddie smiled as she popped open the last button. She ran a few of her fingers down his chest and stomach. He let out a breath that was followed by a soft groan.

“Maddie,” he whispered.

She began to smile. He was starting to get just as turned on as she was. It happened every time he whispered her name like that.

Maddie placed her left hand on his knee and slowly moved her way up his leg. 

“You can do a little bit of work each day,” she said.

“Maddie,” he said, his voice strained as her hand went farther up his leg.

“And we can have a little fun after,” she said as she gripped his thigh.

Chimney’s whole body jerked, and Maddie stood up. 

She pushed the papers and pen down the table and climbed up there in front of him.

“How do you feel about my proposition?” Maddie asked as she slowly took off her shirt.

She let her shirt fall to the floor and Chimney swallowed hard as he looked her over.

“I love it,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. 

Maddie grabbed both sides of his unbuttoned shirt and pulled him to her. She wrapped her legs around his waist as soon as he stood up. She slid the shirt down his arms and it fell on the chair behind Chimney.

She kissed him, and savored the taste of him as he slipped his tongue into her mouth.

Maddie shivered as she felt Chimney’s hand slowly inch down her back.

He broke away and looked at her as he talked.

“Can I take this off?” He asked, referring to the bra that she still had on.

Maddie immediately nodded, and she couldn’t help the smile that formed as she looked at him.

They had had sex so many times that Maddie had lost count, but he always asked for her permission before he did things. And he had told her that he would never stop. That was one of the many reasons why she loved him so much.

Chimney unhooked her bra and and let it fall in the same place her shirt was.

He looked her over before his eyes made their way back up to hers. He moved in closer and kissed her neck.

“You’re so beautiful, Maddie,” he murmured against her skin.

That was another thing that Chimney did so often. He told her she was beautiful at least a few times a day, and it never failed to make her blush.

Chimney kissed down her neck and her chest, and Maddie moved back so she could lie on the table.

The next thing Maddie knew was that Chimney had pushed all those papers in the floor, and it didn’t fully hit her that it was THE papers until one of her nipples were in his mouth.

Maddie couldn’t even form words; all she could do was moan as Chimney continued to nip and kiss his way down her chest.

“Chim,” she said to try to get his attention, but it came out as a sound of pleasure.

God, he was so good with his mouth.

Maddie had even almost forgot about the papers when Chimney’s tongue slipped past his lips and trailed its way down her stomach.

“Oh, god,” Maddie moaned as her hands grabbed a bit of Chimney’s hair.

To be honest, she thought the whole thing was silly. She had been trying to make Chimney forget about the papers just a few minutes prior, but now she was the one trying to bring them up again. They were all currently on the floor, and anything could happen to them. She definitely didn’t want them to get stepped on or ruined.

Chimney kissed his way across her stomach, and Maddie didn’t want him to stop.

But the papers.

The damn papers.

“The papers,” Maddie finally got out.

Chimney looked up at her, and his eyes were full of desire. Maddie almost laughed at him because his hair was an absolute mess… all thanks to her.

“What? What papers?” Chimney asked, confused.

And that was the thing that made Maddie laugh. 

“THE papers. The ones you were just reading. The ones that are currently on the floor because you made them fall. Those papers,” she said.

Chimney’s eyes widened as he looked at the floor, and he lowered his head onto Maddie’s stomach and groaned.

“It’s a good thing those are numbered because Bobby would kick my ass if I got them out of order,” he said before he kissed her stomach again.

“Chim, you were just stressed out about them five minutes ago… how could you forget them so quickly?”

He helped Maddie sit up and he grinned. 

“Because you, Maddie Buckley, have that kind of affect on me.”

Maddie laughed and shook her head as her cheeks started to get red.

Chimney walked over and began to pick the papers up.

“Do you realize how much you affect me?” Maddie asked.

Chimney laughed a little. “Sometimes, yeah. I do.”

After he was finished, he went back over to Maddie. He put both his hands on either side of Maddie, and smiled.

“So, I affect you, you affect me. What else do you have on your mind?” He asked.

Maddie licked her lips before she answered. “I want you to take me upstairs and make love to me, Chimney.”

His hands immediately went to her backside and he grabbed her ass as he picked her up. Maddie wrapped her legs around him.

He kissed her once before he smiled.

“You’ve got it,” he said as he began to walk toward the stairs.


	6. Day 6: Forehead Kisses [The Appreciation of Forehead Kisses]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’m really proud of this one and I’m proud of myself. I was actually having trouble with this prompt(I literally came up with it, and had it planned out in my head a few days ago, but it didn't want to work), and I was actually thinking about throwing it out and coming up with something different. But then, I just started writing and it did take me a bit to come up with something I actually liked, but I did it. And I’m proud. 2018 me would’ve just complained and thrown it out, but 2019 me stayed with the idea until the end. So, maybe that’s a glow up for me. Go me. So anyway, sorry for this little paragraph, and I really hope you all like this.

Title: The Appreciation of Forehead Kisses

 

Chimney knocked at Maddie’s door and ran a hand across his forehead. He had a headache. He hardly ever got them, but when he did, they were hell.

And he honestly felt awful. They were supposed to go out and see a movie, but Chimney wasn’t feeling up to it at all. He barely even felt like driving, but he wasn’t going to cancel and then not even go over and see Maddie.

Besides, he didn’t care about how awful he felt. He needed to see her. He had gotten used to seeing her every day, and he didn’t think he could wait until the next day to see her. 

Maddie opened the door and Chimney gave her a little wave. She didn’t smile or wave back; she only frowned.

“Chimney, what’s wrong?” She asked.

Damn. How did she know something was wrong with him just by looking at him?

“I just have a terrible headache. Today was awful,” he said as he walked in.

Maddie shut the door behind them and she began to frown even more.

“Chimney, what happened?”

“We were getting calls left and right and we were short-handed. It was stressful.”

“I’m really sorry, Chim… but why did you come over if you feel that bad?”

“We were supposed to go out tonight, and I wanted to apologize.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. I completely understand. You didn’t have to come all the way over here to tell me that. You could’ve just called.”

Chimney shrugged and gave her a small smile. “I know, but I wanted to see you.”

Maddie’s frown slowly turned into a smile. “Chim…” She said as she put her hand on his arm.

Chimney let out a sigh. “I really am sorry about tonight.”

“The theater will still be there tomorrow, and the day after that. We can go another night,” she said as she shrugged.

Chimney looked down at her hand on his arm before he looked up at her face. Maddie cleared her throat and stepped away from him.

“But since you’re already here, can I make sure you’re okay?”

He nodded, and he saw Maddie immediately switch over to “nurse mode”. 

“Go and sit down on the couch. Have you taken any medicine?” 

“No,” Chimney said as he made his way over to the couch.

“Chim,” Maddie softly scolded. “How can you start to feel better if you don’t take any medicine?”

“I didn’t have time,” he said, and it was the poorest excuse he had ever come up with.

Truthfully, he had had a lot of time. He had went home, took a shower, and had even ate a little snack. Medicine had been the farthest thing from his mind. He was just mostly in a hurry to get out the door, so he could go to Maddie’s apartment and see her.

And Chimney definitely wasn’t going to tell her that.

Maddie sighed and shook her head. “You need to make time for yourself,” she said before she walked upstairs.

Chimney’s head pounded as he looked at the tv. Some kind of documentary about technology was on, and it didn’t seem too interesting. And Maddie must’ve not been into it either because the volume was almost all the way down.

He heard Maddie walk downstairs and she had a bottle of medicine and something else that he couldn’t quite make out.

She walked over to him and took two pills out of the bottle and handed it to him. 

“I have to go get a glass of water. I’ll be right back,” she said as she rushed to the kitchen.

Maddie came back shortly after and Chimney could finally make out the other item she was holding; it was a washcloth.

She handed him the glass of water and he threw the pills in his mouth. He took a few drinks of water, and he got them down.

“This is for you,” she said as she folded it in half. “I don’t have anything else, but I put it under the hot water, and the warmth of it might ease the pain a little.

She held it up to Chimney’s head and he took it… and he accidentally grabbed Maddie’s thumb in the process.

“Sorry,” he apologized.

Maddie gave him a smile. “It’s okay… but this might work better if you lie down.”

“Maddie, I’m not going to take over your couch,” he said.

“Chim, please. Lie down.”

She obviously wasn’t going to take no for answer, so Chimney did exactly what she asked. He slipped his shoes off, and laid back on the couch. 

“See, this is better. You don’t have to hold it up there. You can just lay here and rest,” she said as she fixed the washcloth on his head.

One of Maddie’s fingers touched the side of his face as she moved his hand away. Chimney let out a little breath, and she jumped back.

Dammit. He wished he wouldn’t have reacted like that. 

It was just that his heart raced, and he would get butterflies every time Maddie touched him. He didn’t know how to make it stop. It seemed like it got more intense as time went on.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. 

“It’s okay. I just wasn’t… expecting it,” he said softly.

Maddie kept her distance and Chimney silently scolded himself for being so stupid. He tried to think of something to say.

“You didn’t have to do any of this. Thank you,” he said as he turned his head to look at her.

Maddie’s expression softened and she gave him a small smile. “You’re always taking care of me, so I just wanted to do the same for you.”

Chimney grinned at her a little and he moved his head so he could stare at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, and Maddie had walked over and grabbed the washcloth again.

She laughed quietly. “This thing’s probably cooled off. I’m going to go run some hot water over it again.”

“Maddie…”

She was gone even before Chimney could tell her that she didn’t have to.

Maddie came back a couple minutes later, and she kneeled on the floor as she put the washcloth back on his forehead. She was very careful as she moved her hands away, and Chimney knew it was because she was trying not to touch him.

He was surprised to see that Maddie hadn’t gotten up yet. She just continued to kneel right beside the couch.

Their faces were close, and Chimney was very careful to not move his eyes past her nose. 

He wanted to kiss her. He had wanted to for the longest time, but he wasn’t going to do anything about it. He had made a promise to himself; Maddie was going to be the one that would do the kissing… well, even if she didn’t ever make the move or never even wanted to, then that would be okay too. The only thing that mattered to Chimney was that they remain friends no matter what.

“How are you feeling?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Truthfully, the pain hadn’t eased at all, but Chimney wasn’t going to tell her that. She was already doing too much for him as it was. He didn’t want her to worry about him.

“I feel a little better,” he said.

Maddie tilted her head to the side. “I don’t believe you.”

Chimney’s mouth fell open.

“How did you know?” He said, not exactly meaning for that to come out.

“You don’t look any better at all… wait, did you just lie to me?”

He sighed and didn’t answer her.

“Chimney?” Maddie asked.

“Yeah, I did. The pain hasn’t eased at all. I just don’t want you to worry about me. You’re spending your evening taking care of me, and I know that’s not how you imagined it.

“Don’t you know that I worry about you all the time?” Maddie asked after a moment of silence.

She worried about him all the time?

Chimney’s heart began to race. 

“But why?” 

Maddie’s mouth fell open. “How could you ask me that? You’re so important to me… and you definitely don’t have the safest job. I worry about you all the time when you’re at work.”

Chimney’s heart was beating so hard that he was sure it was going to fly out of his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t form any words.

“And I don’t care about my evening. I don’t care about not getting to go to the movies. My evening is turning out just fine because I still get to spend it with you. I don’t mind taking care of you because I…. I know you would do the same for me.”

Chimney could feel his heartbeat in his ears, and his head was pounding. There were about ten million things going through his head. Maddie was telling him all of these things, and he was trying to piece them all together, trying to figure out her feelings behind her words. His head was screaming in protest.

He was important to Maddie.

He knew Maddie cared about him, but he never realized that she cared that much. 

He didn’t know that she spent hours and hours worrying about him each day.

He didn’t know that Maddie didn’t care about her plans getting ruined… and that she was happy as long as she was him.

But he did know one thing: He definitely would’ve taken care of Maddie if she was in his position. 

She was important to him, and he cared about her more than anything in the world.

Even though Maddie’s job wasn’t dangerous, he still spent all day worrying about her, hoping she was safe and happy.

Chimney was always the happiest when he was with Maddie. 

God, she meant everything to him.

Chimney only hoped that Maddie knew all of that too.

Then again, she probably did. She was smart, and the look in her eyes when she looked at him gave it all away.

“Maddie,” Chimney finally got out.

“I know you don’t want me to worry about you, but it doesn’t matter because I’m going to anyway… so please don’t lie to me about how you feel because that’ll only make me worry more.”

Maddie stood up and grabbed the washcloth off of his head. She walked to the kitchen.

Chimney let out a frustrated sigh. He was sure he had hurt her feelings. 

God, he could be so stupid sometimes. 

He watched Maddie walk back over to the couch. She placed the washcloth on his head, and Chimney gently grabbed her hand. A few of Maddie’s fingers touched his hair, and he swallowed hard, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach.

“Maddie, I’m sorry,” he said softly. 

She focused on his head where both of their hands were.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said before he let go of her hand.

Maddie finally looked at him, and she shook her head.

“You didn’t hurt me. You just made me mad… a little,” she said. “I just wish you’d see how much I care about you.”

She kneeled, and Chimney let out a breath.

She was close to him again. Maybe she wasn’t that mad after all.

“I’m sorry,” Chimney said again. 

Maddie’s expression softened and she even gave him a little smile. 

“I know, and I forgive you… besides, I don’t think I could ever be mad at you for too long.”

To Chimney’s surprise, Maddie grabbed his hand and held it in her own.

“So, we’re still friends right? He asked, a small smile creeping on his face.

“Friends,” Maddie repeated before she laughed quietly and looked at their hands.

That answered confused Chimney. He honestly didn’t know what she meant.

“Best friends?” He tried again.

“Chimney, I don’t think those words can be used to describe what we are,” she said softly as she kept her eyes on their hands.

“And I’m still trying to figure all of this out, but we’re not just friends… we’re more than that… at least, that’s how I feel,” she explained.

“That’s how I feel too,” Chimney whispered, barely getting the words out.

He couldn’t believe that Maddie felt the same way he did.

Maddie looked at him and smiled.

“Now.. how’s your head?” she asked again.

“It still hurts a lot,” he said honestly.

Maddie raised her hand and softly ran her fingers through his hair. Chimney did everything he could to keep his body from jerking.

“Maddie?” He asked.

“Yeah?”

“I have to ask… how did you know I wasn’t telling the truth, and when I first showed up… how did you know there was something wrong with me?”

Maddie smiled before she answered. “Well, being an ER nurse for eight years does help, but I know you better than anyone, Chim… and I knew something was wrong when I opened the door because you weren’t grinning at me like you always do.”

“Oh,” he said. 

Chimney could feel a blush creeping up on his cheeks. He was always happy to see Maddie, but he didn’t realize that he made it so obvious.

He noticed that Maddie’s eyes had moved to his cheeks, and that made him even more embarrassed. She just laughed a little.

They sat in silence, and Maddie continued to run her hand through his hair. Chimney was actually getting sleepy.

“How’s your head now?” She asked. “And don’t you even think about lying to me.”

Chimney smiled. He deserved that one.

“It still hurts a lot, but thank you for everything you’ve done this evening.”

Maddie smiled. “You’re welcome… but there’s one more thing I could try,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“I could kiss it all better,” Maddie said before she shyly looked away from him.

Chimney’s eyes widened, and he definitely wasn’t sleepy anymore. He didn’t know how to take that, but he was sure it was a joke.

He laughed a little, and Maddie turned to look back at him.

“That’d be great,” he said playing along with the joke.

That was all he thought it was… just a joke… until Maddie moved her hands and grabbed the washcloth off his head. Then, she slowly began to move her head closer to his.

“Maddie,” he whispered.

He looked at her, and he could tell that she was just as nervous as he was.

Maddie’s hair brushed his face, and he felt sparks all through his body. He could even smell the faint scent of strawberry shampoo on her hair. 

Chimney felt Maddie’s lips touch his forehead… in exactly the same place his scar was… and he closed his eyes and tried to take some deep breaths.

Maddie pulled back, and she smiled at Chimney.

“How do you feel now?”

“It still hurts,” he said honestly.

“Maybe I should do it again.”

Chimney swallowed hard and slowly nodded his head. 

Maddie leaned forward and kissed his forehead, not one, but two times. He was barely prepared for the first kiss, so he definitely wasn’t prepared for the second one. He gasped as her lips touched his head again.

She slowly pulled back and looked at Chimney.

He chuckled nervously. “You’re an amazing nurse.”

Maddie laughed. “Thank you, but only certain people get the special treatment.”

“Who are they?”

Chimney could’ve have sworn that he saw Maddie blush. 

“Well, only one to be exact… the one that I call my boyfriend,” she said as she shyly looked at Chimney’s shoulder.

He was officially Maddie Buckley’s boyfriend.

Chimney began to smile so big that his cheeks hurt.

Maddie moved her head closer to his again, but she hesitated a little.

“Chim,” she whispered. “Am I annoying you? I mean… with the forehead kisses?”

“Of course not, Maddie… and besides, isn’t this part of my treatment to get better?” He teased.

Maddie only gave him half a smile. “I was just wondering.”

“You could never annoy me, Maddie. Ever,” Chimney said.

“I know the forehead kissing might be a little strange, but I’m just trying to figure things out… not my feelings for you, but I’m trying to figure out what to do, and how to feel during these situations. This is all new to me, and I need to make sure I only focus on one thing at a time.”

“You do what you need to, and I’ll be right here… and Maddie?”

“Yeah, Chim?”

“You could kiss my forehead for three hours straight, and I’d enjoy every second of it.”

Maddie smiled and blushed a little.

“So, this is fine with you, right?”

“It’s more than fine,” Chimney answered.

Maddie nodded and moved to kiss his forehead again.

Chimney closed his eyes and butterflies filled his stomach once more.

And Chimney realized that he had a certain appreciation for forehead kisses, especially when Maddie Buckley was the one doing the kissing.


	7. Day 7: Love Letter [With Love]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there are sexual themes in this, but it’s literally only a paragraph. I still thought I’d warn you all because warnings and things like that are important after all.

Title: With Love

 

Maddie groaned into her pillow as her phone’s alarm played loudly. She rolled over and grabbed her phone, so she could turn the annoying thing off.

6:30.

It was too early.

Maddie huffed and laid back down, slamming her hand against the pillow. She moved her hand to the other side of the bed, and it was empty. She even began to pout a little.

Chimney had been long gone. He had to go in to work at 4:30. Maddie hated when he had to go in so early; she missed cuddling with him in bed. The bed didn’t feel right without him in it. 

Maddie stretched, and her right hand fell on top of something on Chimney’s pillow; she already knew what it was: a piece of paper that contained a note written by Chimney.

He didn’t always have to go into work that early, but he always left a note for Maddie on his pillow whenever he did. And Chimney had told her that he did it because he just wanted her to have something nice to wake up to, especially if he wasn’t able to be there with her when she woke up.

Sometimes, he would tell her how much he loved her. Other times he would tell her that he hoped her day at work wouldn’t be too stressful. And other times, he would tell her how beautiful he thought she was.

And on certain occasions, he would add all three of those things, and it would always make Maddie’s heart skip a beat or two.

Chimney didn’t know, but she kept every single note he had written for her. She put them all in the drawer of her jewelry box.

She rolled over and turned on the lamp on the table beside the bed.

“Oh my god,” she whispered as the light filled the room and hurt her eyes.

She blinked a few times before she unfolded the note. 

“Chim,” she whispered as she looked at the paper. 

He had written a lot. It was definitely going to be one of those times where Maddie’s heart would beat rapidly as she read.

She began to read:

“It should be illegal to have to go to work when it’s still dark outside. I’d like to find the person who started all of this. I’m tired, and our hour of fun after midnight definitely didn’t help. But it’s okay because I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. Anyway, enough of me complaining.”

Maddie bit her lip as the images of the previous night filled her head; Chimney’s lips and hands on every inch of her body, Chimney telling her how much he loved her as he kissed his way down her stomach, the way Chimney moaned whenever she was doing something right, and the way Chimney moaned her name as he came.

Heat pooled into Maddie’s stomach because of her thoughts and she began to read the letter again.

“Good morning, beautiful. I hope you got as much rest as you could because you definitely deserve it. You actually have no idea how much I wish I could stay here with you. You probably don’t even know how much I miss you when I’m at work. I miss you all the time. Everyone gets tired of my constant complaining about how much I miss you.”

Maddie laughed at that. He really did complain a lot, and she only found out because Hen had told her that Chimney talked about her all the time.

And that had sort of embarrassed Chimney at first, but Maddie thought it was cute.

She missed him a lot when she was at work too...and she had even found herself talking about him a lot.

Maddie focused on the paper again.

“I know I tell you this every day(sometimes multiple times a day), but I love you so much, Maddie. You mean everything to me. Sometimes, I can’t even believe I’m lucky enough to call you mine. 

I also tell you this every day, but you’re so beautiful. Everything about you is beautiful, but I love your smile the most. God, it could take the sun’s place because that’s how much it lights up the room. Seeing you smile is the most important thing to me. I always want you to be happy. 

I should end this because this is getting long, and I’m running out of room on the paper… but Maddie, there honestly isn’t enough time in the world to explain how I feel about you. I could go on and on forever.

I hope your day at work goes as easy as possible, and I’ll be here waiting for you when you get home. 

I love you so much. 

With love, Chim.

P.S. Don’t get mad at me, but I just ate the last fudge brownie… but I’ll make it up to you later. I promise. ;)”

Maddie laughed and shook her head, and she realized she had teared up a little. She wiped away the tears.

God, her heart was so full of love.

Chimney was talking about how lucky he was, but Maddie thought that she was lucky to have him. 

He had stood by her through everything, even through the bad times, and she only hoped he knew how grateful she was for him.

He always knew what to say to her, and how to make her smile. He did little things like writing notes and that honestly meant the world to Maddie.

And Chimney loved her with everything in him.

Maddie was sure that he had no idea how much she loved him back.

She held the note close to her chest and laid down again.

Maddie thought about how she couldn’t wait to see him later; she was going to thank him for the note a million times over. She was definitely going to hug him and cover his body in kisses,

Then, Chimney would do the same to her… because that was what he always did when he came home from work.

But Maddie would make sure that he would give her a little extra today.

After all, he promised. He stole the last fudge brownie. She couldn’t let him get away with that.


	8. Day 8: At a Sporting Event [Baseball]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So, this definitely isn’t my best work and it could be a lot better. I know that. I’ve actually felt really awful since last night, but I just really wanted to get something posted today. Hopefully, I’ll feel better tomorrow. But anyway, if you’re still here and reading these chapters, I just want to say that I really appreciate it. It really means a lot.

Title: Baseball

 

Maddie looked around the baseball stadium with a small smile on her face. 

Baseball definitely wasn’t something she liked to watch on tv, but she felt that actually being at the game would be a whole different experience. And even if the game ended up being boring, then Maddie didn’t care. At least she was there with Chimney, and they could make some memories together.

Maddie took off her baseball cap and ran her hand through her hair before she put it back on. She looked over at Chimney and he was doing the same thing with his except he was adjusting it so it would fit him better.

They both had the exact same blue and white Los Angeles Dodgers jerseys and hats. Chimney was the one who suggested they should get them, and Maddie agreed.

The more she sat there and looked at Chimney with his hat on, the more she was thankful for him suggesting to buy it in the first place. He looked absolutely adorable.

“You look really cute today,” Chimney said, bringing Maddie out of her thoughts.

She laughed as she looked over at him.

“I was just thinking the same thing about you,” she said as she began to smile.

Chimney grabbed Maddie’s hand and kissed the top of it.

“Is it about to start?” She asked as she pointed at one of the dugouts because a few players had walked out. 

“Yeah, soon,” he said as he reached for the baseball glove he had bought earlier before they had found their seats.

Maddie’s brows raised as he hurriedly put it on.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Putting on this cool glove. It probably won’t happen, but I’m getting ready just in case one of the balls fly up here.”

Maddie’s eyes widened.

Uh-oh. 

She didn’t think about one of the balls flying up into the stands. She started to calculate how close they were to the field, and they were seven rows up.

“Oh my god, Chim!” Maddie panicked.

“What? What’s wrong?” He said, concern evident in his voice.

“One of us is gonna end up in the hospital with a broken nose or worse,” she said.

“Maddie, that won’t happen,” Chimney assured her.

“But I’ve seen those videos of people losing teeth and getting knocked out at baseball games!”

Chimney took off his baseball glove and positioned himself in his seat, so he could place his hand on Maddie’s cheek.

“We’re on the seventh row, so the chances of a ball making it up here are very slim. We’re going to be fine. If I thought we were in any danger, I definitely wouldn’t have brought you here… and I honestly just bought the glove because I thought it was really cool. That’s it. I don’t exactly expect a ball to fly up here. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“You don’t have a lot of faith in these players,” Maddie pointed out. 

Chimney laughed. “Hey.They’re good, but they’re not that good.”

Maddie shook her head and a small smile formed on her face.

“Are you okay? If you’re not, then we can leave,” he offered.

She looked at him and he was completely serious. He was so worried about her that he was willing to leave the game even after he had spent a lot of money on their tickets.

“Chim, no! We’re not leaving. You spent so much money on this.”

He shrugged. “The money isn’t important, but you are… and we’ll leave and watch the game at home.”

“I love you, and I know I got a little scared for a second, but if you say that we’re going to be okay, then I believe you. I trust your judgement, so we’re gonna watch the game right here.”

Chimney ran his thumb across his cheek. “Are you sure you’re okay?

She nodded. “I promise.”

“And I love you, too,” he said as he took his hat off.

He leaned over and kissed Maddie, and then, he planted kisses all over her cheeks.

Her hat fell off, and Chimney stopped kissing her so he could grab it. He brushed her hair out of her face and put it back on.

“How do I look?” Maddie asked.

A small smile formed on Chimney’s face. “Amazing.”

Maddie started to blush and grabbed his hat so she could put it on him.

“How do I look?” Chimney asked after she got it on.

“You also look amazing.”

He grabbed her hand and gently squeezed it.

The players were walking out on the field, and the game was officially starting. Maddie glanced over at Chimney and he was so excited. His eyes lit up and he had the biggest smile on his face as he watched everything happening on the field.

Maddie already knew that she was most likely going to enjoy watching Chimney’s face and his reactions a lot more than the actual game.


	9. Day 9: Cooking Dinner [Dinner Disaster]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually really love this one. Mr. Bobby Nash makes an appearance ;)

Title: Dinner Disaster

 

Chimney thought he had come up with one of his best ideas yet. He had decided that he was going to surprise Maddie by cooking her dinner. He had asked Bobby for a simple recipe that he couldn’t mess up, and he had given Chimney a recipe for Three-Cheese Lasagna. Bobby had told him that it was one of the most simple things to fix. And Chimney had been confident that he could do it. 

That was ten hours ago. 

Now, he was standing in his kitchen with dirty dishes, pans, and Three-Cheese Lasagna that looked like it had been run over by a car. His apartment also smelled like it was on fire; most of the lasagna was burnt.

Chimney paced across the kitchen. He didn’t know what to do or how to fix it. He was out of time because Maddie was going to be there soon. He didn’t even have time to wash all the dishes, get rid of the god awful smell in his apartment, and act like the whole thing never happened.

“Oh, god!” Chimney groaned as he eyed the lasagna when he walked by it. 

Truthfully, he really shouldn’t have been surprised that it ended in a disaster. He never cooked. He never had any time or he was too tired to even try to when he got home from work.

But he really wished it would’ve worked out this one time. He just wanted to surprise Maddie and make her smile. 

Chimney sighed as he got out his phone and called Bobby. He honestly didn’t know why he was calling him. It wasn’t like Bobby could magically fix the mess he had made. 

Bobby picked up the phone within seconds. “Hey, how’s that lasagna going?”

“It’s awful, Bobby!” Chimney shouted.

“Tell me what step you’re on, and maybe I can help you.”

“I’m way past the steps. I’m at the part where I throw it in the trash.”

“Chim, did you follow every step on that recipe?”

“Of course I did! I even double checked myself at every step. I don’t know what happened. I just wanted this to be perfect for Maddie.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. Things happen, and Maddie will understand.”

“But-” Chimney started to say, but Bobby interrupted him. 

“Hey, I’m proud of you. You should be proud of yourself too.”

“Bobby, you wouldn’t be saying that if you were standing in my kitchen right now.”

“I would because you actually tried to cook dinner yourself instead of asking me to do it and then pretending that you did. It didn’t turn out great, but at least you tried. That’s the most important thing.”

Everything Bobby had said was true. At least he wasn’t pretending to be someone he wasn’t anymore. He didn’t want to do that with Maddie. All he wanted to do was show who he truly was.

“Look, I know you were only trying to make Maddie happy, but she’ll still appreciate what you tried to do for her.”

“You think so?” Chimney asked.

“I’m sure of it. Everything will be okay.”

Chimney sighed. Bobby was always right, so he was probably right about this.

“I’m sorry I called you,” he apologized.

“Don’t be sorry. I don’t mind at all. You can always call me if you ever need anything.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome… and I’ll teach you how to make lasagna or anything you’d want to learn how to make.”

“Really?” Chimney asked.

“Of course.”

Chimney smiled. “I’d love that. Thanks. You have a good evening, and tell Athena I said hi.”

“I definitely will. I hope you have a good evening too. Bye.”

“Bye, Cap.”

Chimney ended the call and looked around his kitchen. He decided to throw the lasagna away because he definitely wasn’t going to let Maddie eat that. He began to throw the dishes in the sink, and then he heard a knock at the door.

“Hang on a minute!” He shouted. 

He mostly finished putting all the dishes in the sink and he rushed over to the door. When he opened it, Maddie’s brows raised as she looked at him.

“Hey,” he said out of breath. “Come in.”

Maddie walked in and she made the strangest face.

“I, uh, I’m sorry about the smell. I was trying to cook dinner.”

Maddie smiled. “I’ve never seen you cook dinner.”

Chimney laughed nervously and shoved his hands in his pockets. “That’s the problem. I never cook. I was just trying to change it up today and make lasagna.”

Maddie moved past Chimney and went straight to the kitchen.

“Where is it? I want to try it,” she said.

“I threw it away,” he said as he walked towards the kitchen.

“Chim!”

“Maddie, I would’ve been the worst person in the world if I would’ve let anyone eat that. It could’ve sent someone to the hospital. If you think the smell is bad… it looked twenty times worse.”

Maddie gave him a sad smile. “I’m sure there could’ve been something on it I could’ve eaten.”

Chimney shook his head. “Nope.”

“So, why did you decide to cook today?” Maddie asked after a moment of silence.

Chimney lowered his head and looked at the floor before he decided to look up at Maddie again.

“It was supposed to be for you… a surprise, but it didn’t go as planned and I’m sorry-”

Before Chimney could even get out his whole apology, Maddie had rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around him. She had crashed into him so hard that he went backwards and his lower back hit the countertop. Maddie rested her head on Chimney’s shoulder and a small smile formed on his lips.

“Thank you so much,” she said. “No one has ever fixed me dinner before.”

“Maddie, I- technically I didn’t. It was ruined,” he reminded her.

“I don’t care.”

“But-” Chimney began but Maddie interrupted.

“No one has ever bothered to try to make me dinner, so I don’t care that it didn’t turn out right. You attempted to make me dinner, and that means so much to me, Chim. Thank you so much.”

Well, Bobby had definitely been right. Maddie still appreciated it after all.

Chimney hated knowing that no one had ever bothered to try to fix her dinner. 

He was definitely going to take Bobby up on his offer to teach him how to cook. He would learn how to fix something even if it was going to kill him. 

Maddie pulled away and walked over to the sink.

“Wow, this a mess,” she said as she began to grab the dishes. She turned on the water, and Chimney walked over to her.

“Maddie, what are you doing?” He asked.

“I’m washing the dishes,” she explained as she looked at him.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said.

Maddie shrugged. “I know, but I want to, and you’re not going to stop me,” she teased.

Chimney sighed. “Move over. I’m not letting you wash all of this by yourself. I’ll wash, you rinse.”

Maddie shook her head and smiled. “No. I’ll wash, you rinse.”

“Do we have to do a round of rock-paper-scissors to settle this?” He joked.

Maddie turned off the water and dried her hands. 

“Let’s do this,” she said before she laughed.

They stood in front of each other, and they got into position. Chimney stared at his hands.

“Look at me. You might cheat,” Maddie said.

He laughed. “Who cheats during a game like this?”

“Buck used to. He’d watch my hands and tried to change what he was going with at the last second. He used to cheat all the time.”

“Wow. That sounds like Buck,” he said as he looked at her. He stared directly into her eyes. “Are you ready?”

Maddie nodded.

“Rock paper, scissors… shoot!” They both said at the same time as they looked at each other.

“Chim!” Maddie shouted and he jumped.

“What?” He asked.

“You didn’t do anything!”

Chimney looked down at his hands and Maddie was right. His hands were somehow by his side.

Oops. 

He had paid more attention to Maddie’s face instead of concentrating on their game.

“I uh, I wasn’t ready,” he said quietly.

Maddie laughed. “You’re so silly. Let’s try it again.”

Chimney nodded and looked at her face again. 

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” They both said, and Chimney focused on trying to get the words out so he wouldn’t get distracted again.

“Ha! It’s settled,” Maddie said. “I wash, you rinse.”

Chimney looked down, and he had “paper” while she had “scissors”.

“Ouch!” Chimney shouted as Maddie pretended to cut his hand.

“Chimney,” Maddie barely got out before she laughed.

She turned around and went back to the dishes. Chimney stood beside her.

“So… we could order takeout for dinner later… if you want to,” he said.

Maddie looked at him. “Can we go out?”

“Yeah, definitely. What do you wanna do?”

She shrugged. “We could go eat, watch a movie… and then I don’t know. I guess we’ll just see what else we can get into,” she said as her eyes moved down to his lips.

Chimney was so thankful that he was near the counter because he had to grip it just to keep standing. 

That hadn’t been the first time that he had caught Maddie staring at his lips, but it had been the first time she said something suggestive while she did. 

“Does that sound okay to you?” Maddie asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah,” Chimney said. “It sounds great.”

Maddie nodded and passed a clean plate to him so he could rinse it off.

Chimney turned on the water, and he began to smile.

He couldn’t wait to find out what the evening had in store for them.


	10. Day 10: One Wearing the Other's Jacket [Safe]

Title: Safe

 

Chimney and Maddie walked out of the movie theater, and it was a little after midnight. They had been there for over five hours because they had decided to watch two movies.

As soon as Maddie walked out, the wind and the chilly air hit her body. She began to shiver a little, and she immediately regretted that she didn’t bring a jacket. She didn’t think she needed one. She always underestimated LA’s weather.

“Are you cold?” Chimney asked.

Maddie shrugged. “Yeah, a little,” she answered honestly.

He stopped walking and began to take his tannish, brown jacket off.

She shook her head. “No. I’m not taking your jacket.”

“I’m not gonna stand here and let you be cold,” he said as he tried to hand it to her.

“What about you? Won’t you get cold, too?” She asked.

“I’ll be fine. Maddie, please take it,” he said.

Maddie glanced at the jacket before she looked at Chimney. He gave her a small smile as she grabbed it and put it on. She sighed as the warmth of the jacket touched her cold arms.

“Wow,” she heard Chimney say under his breath. 

“What?” Maddie asked.

She quickly realized that Chimney hadn’t meant for her to hear that because he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground.

“Uh, it’s nothing,” he said. “We should get going.”

Maddie nodded and they began to walk again. She tried to figure out why he had said that. It didn’t sound like a bad “wow”; in fact, it sounded like he was pleased, especially because of the way he had looked at her. 

There were a few groups of people scattered around the sidewalk. Some of them were cheering and others were laughing very loudly. Maddie couldn’t help but notice the way Chimney moved closer to her and placed his hand on the small of her back. 

And then farther down the sidewalk, there were a few men who were passing around what she thought was alcohol. Maddie felt Chimney’s whole arm wrap around her waist and he pulled her as close as she could get to him.

She loved how he had pulled her close to him to make sure nothing was going to happen to her. She appreciated that so much.

Once they had moved past the men on the sidewalk, Chimney’s hand left her waist, and he placed it on the small of her back again.

They made it to Chimney’s car a few minutes later. He pulled out his keys and unlocked it before he opened the passenger door for Maddie. She got in, and Chimney closed the door for her. Once he was in, he put on his seatbelt and Maddie put hers on too. Before, Chimney could start the car, she put her hand on his to stop him. 

“Thanks for that back there,” she said softly as she moved her hand away.

Chimney smiled. “You don’t have to thank me. I just didn’t want you to get cold.”

Maddie shook her head.

“Thank you for that too, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I was referring to what you did when we walked past those people.”

“I just wanted to make sure no one was gonna try anything. I always want to keep you safe,” he said before he avoided her gaze and started the car.

Maddie’s mouth fell open, but she immediately closed it. 

He wanted to keep her safe, and that was exactly how he made her feel. 

“Do you want the heat on?” Chimney asked before Maddie even got a chance to speak.

“Umm, yeah,” she answered and he turned it on.

Chimney began to drive, and they were going to be at Maddie’s apartment in no time; she only lived about five minutes away. She was so surprised that there was barely any traffic. It was hell trying to go anywhere during the day.

The faint smell of cologne hit her nose, and she was sure it was coming from his jacket. The heat was blowing it around the car, and that was all Maddie could smell. It definitely wasn’t helping her think clearly, especially when she realized she was going to smell just like Chimney after she was going to give it back to him.

They arrived to her apartment complex, and Chimney parked out in front.

Maddie looked over at Chimney and he was tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. She suddenly got the urge to tell him what was really on her mind, and she didn’t know why. Maddie decided that she was just going to blame his jacket, his cologne, and the way Chimney looked in his black polo.

“Thank you,” Maddie began. She knew she had probably said that too much, but she truly felt like she needed to tell him a million times over.

Chimney looked over at her, and he was confused. 

“Thank you for everything you do for me,” she said.

“Maddie, you don’t have to thank me.”

“No, I do. You don’t have to hang out with me or spend your money on me, or sit through hours of movies for me just because I haven’t seen them, or stay with me and comfort me just to make sure I’m okay… and there’s so many other things you do for me, like letting me borrow your jacket or keeping me safe… you don’t have to do any of it, but you do it all anyway because you’re kind… and you’re so good to me all the time. You said you always want to keep me safe, and you do, in so many different ways. The truth is, Chim, I feel so safe when I’m with you, and I haven’t felt like that with anyone in a long time… so thank you so much for everything you do.”

Maddie’s heart was beating so hard as she looked over at Chimney. He looked at her for a second before he got out of the car and rushed to her side. He opened the door and Maddie quickly took her seatbelt off. 

He grabbed her hand as she was getting out of the car, and then, he pulled her into a big hug. 

“Maddie,” he whispered.

And that was all he said. He just continued to hold her tight.

And Maddie was completely fine with that.

Chimney didn’t even have to say anything else. She already knew how he felt about her, and the way he had said her name only showed his feelings even more.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until Chimney finally pulled away. 

“I’ll walk you to your door,” he said.

Maddie nodded and they began to walk. When they made it to her door, she began to take his jacket off, but he stopped her before she could.

“Keep it. You might get cold.”

Maddie’s brows raised. “But I have my own.”

Chimney smiled. “I know, but keep this one.”

“Chim, are you serious?” 

“Yeah.”

“But this is your favorite. Won’t you miss it?”

Chimney laughed nervously and ran his thumb across her hand. “No. Goodnight, Maddie.”

She smiled. “Goodnight, Chim.”

“Are you sure you don’t want this back?” She asked.

“I’m sure. Besides, it looks a lot better on you anyway,” he said before he walked away.

Maddie smiled as she unlocked her door. Once she was inside, she rested her back and head against the door. Her cheeks felt hot, and she didn’t even need a mirror to know she was blushing.

Now, she knew why Chimney had said “wow” earlier; he liked the way she looked in his jacket.

Maddie didn’t realize how tired she was until she took her shoes off. She walked straight upstairs and laid on her bed. She didn’t realize that she hadn’t taken Chimney’s jacket off until a little bit later when she was half asleep. And she definitely wasn’t going to get up.

Maddie just decided to keep it on. After all, it was definitely going to keep her warm.

And it was like she had a piece of Chimney there with her.


	11. Day 11: Lazy Day [Day Off]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is so short, and I’m sorry… but I had so much to do today, and I’m so tired. I’m actually having a hard time keeping my eyes open. And whenever I’m tired, I get so weird? Like I was just getting emotional about their NAMES, so yeah, writing this one was quite the experience.

Title: Day Off

 

Chimney rolled over and kissed Maddie’s neck. 

He didn’t know what time it was, but he didn’t care. He didn’t have to go into work, and Maddie didn’t either. They literally never had the same day off, so Chimney was definitely going to advantage of that. 

“Do you hear that?” Chimney asked.

“No. I don’t hear anything. What do you hear?” Maddie questioned.

Chimney laughed quietly. “Nothing.”

He felt the bed shift, and Maddie rolled over and looked at him with the most confused expression on her face.

“It’s quiet. There’s no alarms waking us up and telling us to go to work. That means we can stay in bed all day,” he explained. 

Maddie laughed. “Yeah, we could, but I was thinking about fixing a really nice breakfast.”

“We can definitely do that later… a lot later.”

“Chim, it’ll be time for dinner by then.”

“We could have breakfast for dinner,” Chimney suggested.

Maddie smiled. “Okay, but what are we going to do now?”

“Stay in bed for a really long time,” Chimney said as he stretched. 

“I don’t think I can go back to sleep.”

Chimney propped himself up on his elbow and brushed Maddie’s hair out of her face. “We don’t have to sleep. I just really want to stay right here with you. We never get a chance to do things like this. We can just relax and be lazy. We can talk or we can lay here and I’ll tell you how beautiful you are.”

“Chim,” Maddie said before she laughed.

“I’m serious. We don’t know when this will happen again. It could be months before we have the same day off. I just want to spend all day in this bed with you because I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

Maddie smiled at Chimney before she pushed him on his back. She moved over and rested her head on his chest. “Let’s stay in bed all day, then.”

“I love you so much,” she said after after a few moments of silence.

Chimney smiled and ran his hand through her hair. “I love you more, Maddie Buckley.”


	12. Day 12: One Making the Other Blush [New Uniform]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hen, Buck, Eddie, and Bobby are in this one.

Title: New Uniform

 

Chimney was walking through the firehouse and talking to Maddie on the phone. Sometimes they did that when they had a chance to talk.

“So, did you get it?” Maddie asked over the phone.

Chimney smiled and looked at his new uniform. They had just came in that morning.

“Yeah, and I’m wearing it,” he added.

“What does it look like?” 

“It’s basically the same as the other one except the font of our nametags are different and bigger, and overall, I think this uniform is more comfortable.”

“I want to see what it looks like. Send me a picture… or two,” Maddie said softly.

“Are you serious?” Chimney asked.

“Of course I am.”

“Wait, what is that crunching sound?” Chimney asked as his brows raised.

“I’m eating grapes. I’m on my lunch break.”

“Maddie, it’s nine in the morning.”

She sighed into the phone. “I don’t know what to call it. I’m just on my break. I’ve been here since four in the morning, Chim.”

“Ouch. You must be tired.”

“I am, and I definitely need me a pick me up to get me through the rest of this shift… and these grapes aren’t going to cut it. So, send me a picture of you.”

Chimney grinned. “So, my face is the thing that’ll get you through the day?” 

Maddie laughed softly. “Definitely.”

Chimney shook his head. “Okay, then I’ll send you some.”

“Wait,” Maddie said. “Make sure you smile in at least one of those.”

“Why?”

“I want you to. Besides, I need a new wallpaper.”

“Of me?” Chimney asked, surprised.

“Yeah, silly,” she answered. 

“The only silly one here is you… wanting a picture of me as your wallpaper.”

“Hey, I’m not! Maybe I just want to admire you… and whenever someone asks me who Chimney is, I can just pull out my phone, and say that’s Chimney. That’s my boyfriend. Look at his cute smile.”

Chimney laughed softly and he began to blush. 

They had only been dating for a little over two months, and Chimney couldn’t get over Maddie calling him her boyfriend. It made him blush every time.

“All right. I’ll send you pictures as soon as I can.”

“Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

“Bye, Maddie.”

“Bye.”

Chimney rushed straight over to their exercising area and went to the “good lighting” space that Eddie had told him about. He took one picture of his body, so Maddie could actually see his uniform. Then, he took one of himself with a serious expression. And of course, he took a picture of him and he made sure he was smiling as big as he could. 

And then, he began to kid around. He picked up a dumbbell(one he could actually lift, of course; he didn’t want to get too cocky and pull a muscle) and acted like he was lifting weights when he snapped a few pictures. 

When he was finished, he sent them and walked upstairs and took a seat at the kitchen table.

Maddie responded within a couple of minutes, and she sent multiple text messages.

Maddie: oh wow, Chim

Maddie: you’re handsome

Maddie: hot

Maddie: cute

Maddie: and adorable

And then, she sent a few text messages that consisted of nothing but kissy face and heart-eyed emojis.

Maddie: oops. I forgot to comment on your uniform. It looks great

Chimney laughed and his cheeks felt so hot. 

He had never had a girlfriend that reacted the way Maddie did when he had sent them pictures. Maddie’s reaction was adorable, and it made him feel really good.

Chimney texted her back and told her “thank you”; he had even sent a few heart-eyed emojis to her. And he told her that she would have to send him a picture of herself sometime, so he could have it as his wallpaper. She told him she definitely would.

Chimney just reread her text messages over and over. 

“Hello? Earth to Chim!” Buck said.

Chimney looked up from his phone and Hen and Buck were standing in front of him.

“What?” He asked.

“Whatever’s on that phone must be pretty good because Buck and I have been trying to get your attention for a few minutes now,” Hen said.

“Look! He’s blushing!” Buck pointed out.

“No, I’m not,” Chimney said, brushing it off, but Hen was nodding beside Buck.

“You are, Chim. So, what’s going on?”

Chimney looked at his phone again before he looked up. 

“I might’ve gotten a really sweet message from someone after I sent them pictures of me in my new uniform,” he said as he began to smile again. 

Chimney and Maddie hadn’t exactly told anyone that they were dating yet. It seemed like almost everyone was convinced they were dating anyway, so they really didn’t think it was necessary to announce it.

“It was Maddie, wasn’t it?” Buck asked. “She blushes like that when you text her too.”

“She does?” Chimney asked, ignoring his first question.

“Yeah, she giggles like she’s in third grade.”

Chimney laughed softly. He loved knowing that piece of information. Images of Maddie blushing filled his mind, and it gave him butterflies. 

“Okay, let’s stay on track here. So, is it Maddie or not? What did she say?” Hen wondered.

Chimney sighed. “Yes, it’s Maddie... and she said some really nice things about the way I look in my uniform.”

“Wow,” Hen said. “Chim, I’ve been wondering this for weeks, but when are you all going to make it official?”

Well, since someone had finally asked about their relationship status instead of automatically assuming, Chimney just decided to go ahead and tell them. He just wanted to check in with Maddie and make sure it was okay. After all, he only wanted to do things Maddie’s way.

“Who are you texting?” Buck asked.

“Maddie. I’m making sure it’s okay if I tell people the news.”

Wait… did you get my sister pregnant?” Buck asked, his voice getting louder.

“What?” No!” Chimney shouted as he threw his hands in the air. “That isn’t the news, Buck!”

“Well, then what is it?” Buck asked.

Chimney’s phone vibrated and Maddie told him that she was more than fine with him telling people.

“We’re official. We started dating two months ago,” Chimney explained.

Hen grinned. “Tell me everything. How did it happen?”

Buck made a confused expression. “How is that news?”

“Uh, it’s news because we started dating and we just now decided to tell everyone,” Chimney said.

“No, you’ve been dating since before that night we all had dinner at your apartment… when I asked both of you if you were dating and you both started acting weird.”

Chimney shook his head. “Buck, no. We tried to tell you we weren’t dating… twenty times, and you didn’t listen.”

Buck looked as confused as ever. “But-” he began, and Eddie, who was sitting across the room, interrupted him. 

“Can you please be quiet so Chim can finish his story?” 

“Agreed. Go on,” Hen said. 

Chimney looked around, and all of his friend’s eyes were on him. He cleared his throat before he began to speak.

“Before I start, I just wanted to thank you for showing me that spot with the good lighting down there, Eddie. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Oh, god,” Buck groaned.

“Hey, you’re welcome,” Eddie answered.

“So, Maddie was at my apartment and we were watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I started laughing at this part in the movie, and I forgot I was holding the bowl of popcorn… so it flew out of my lap and the popcorn went everywhere. So, Maddie and I paused the movie to clean up the mess… and we were both on the floor, and Maddie started laughing at me and then I started laughing too… when we stopped, we were staring at each other. It was just one of those moments, you know? I ended up telling her she was beautiful, and she kissed me. That’s it.”

Chimney looked at Hen, and she was so proud. He looked at Buck, and he looked like he was disgusted. Eddie had a small smile on his face.

“That has got to be the best get-together story I’ve ever heard,” Hen said.

“Oh, come on. That’s not actually what happened, right?” Buck asked. 

“Yeah, it is,” Chimney said as he scratched the back of his head. “Ask Maddie and she’ll tell you the same thing.”

“So, how is it… dating Maddie?” Hen asked.

“To be honest, nothing hasn’t changed. We still do all the same things we did before we got together. The only difference is, we don’t really make it to the end of movies anymore. We uh, we get a little distracted,” he said as a smile formed on his lips. “But dating Maddie is great. She’s really amazing.”

“I’m going to get sick,” Buck complained.

“Our boy’s in love!” Hen shouted. 

“Who’s in love?” Bobby asked as he was coming up the steps.

“Chim,” Hen answered.

“And it’s gross,” Buck added.

“Hey now. There’s nothing wrong with being in love,” Bobby said.

“Yeah, there is, especially when the person he’s in love with is my sister,” Buck pointed out.

Bobby chuckled a little and patted Chimney’s shoulder. “Maddie. I saw that one coming.”

“See! Even Cap thought you all were dating!” Buck said.

Bobby walked around the table and took a seat. He shook his head.

“No, I didn’t say that. I said I saw it coming.There’s a difference. I knew Chim was in love with her a long time ago,” Bobby explained.

Bobby looked over at Chimney and smiled.

“I’m happy for you, Chim.”

“Me too,” Hen said

“Me three,” Eddie added.

“Thanks, guys,” Chimney said.

Everyone looked at Buck because it was his turn to say something.

He sighed. “Me four. I think.”

“Now, Buck. What’s wrong with Chimney dating your sister? As long as he treats her right, then you don’t have anything to worry about,” Bobby said.

“Buck, I hope you’d know by now that I would never hurt Maddie,” Chimney explained.

God, he would die before that happened. 

“No, I know. It’s not that. I know she’s gonna be okay with you, but I never imagined hearing you talk about kissing my sister… or you becoming my brother.”

Chimney’s eyes widened. “Buck, we’ve only been dating for two months…getting married isn’t anything we’re thinking of right now.”

“It’s gonna happen,” Buck said.

“Not to be pushy or anything, but he’s right. It’s gonna happen,” Hen said as she shrugged. “I bet every one of you fifty bucks that it will.”

“Oh no, you aren’t about to bet on mine and Maddie’s relationship,” Chimney said.

“He’s right. That’s totally uncalled for,” Bobby added. 

“It is, because we all know Hen is trying to rob us,” Eddie teased. “She’s just trying to get us to bet against her, so she’ll win money. She already knows she’s right.”

“Hey!” Hen shouted. “I can’t help that I’m right about everything.”

“All right, everyone.That’s enough. I think we should find something useful to do instead of sitting around and talking about relationships that aren’t any of our business… so get to work,” Bobby told everyone.

“Seriously, Chim, I’m really happy for you,” Hen told him. “Anytime you and Maddie want to do a double date, Karen and I would love to go out with you all.”

“Thank you, Hen. We’ll definitely do that,” Chimney said.

Everyone began to get up and move toward the stairs, and Chimney couldn’t believe that he was thinking about marriage… thanks to his friends.

Of course, it was way too early to even think about, but if it was meant to happen, Chimney would be happy about it… because the idea of being married to Maddie Buckley definitely didn’t sound bad at all. In fact, it sounded amazing.


	13. Day 13: Sick Day [Dr. Han]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI. I’m back. I’ve been soooo busy, and I got a new laptop and I had to figure it all out and stuff. I definitely haven’t abandoned this, and I won’t do that. I’ll definitely try not to go too long without posting again.

Title: Dr. Han 

 

Chimney rang the doorbell to Maddie’s apartment. He just hoped he wasn’t waking her up.

The flu was going around like the plague and mostly everyone that Chimney worked with was sick or had been sick, including Buck.

And Maddie was sick too. 

After Buck had told him that she was sick, Chimney decided to go over and visit her and give her some chicken soup that Bobby had made. He wasn’t sure if it was his healthy immune system or eating the soup nonstop, but he hadn’t gotten sick yet. He was honestly leaning toward the chicken soup because Bobby was perfectly fine too.

Chimney almost decided to leave and just come back later until he heard Maddie unlock the door. When she opened it, she had a blanket draped around her body, and she looked so pale. She looked awful.

“Hi. I brought you some chicken soup. Bobby made it, so it’s amazing,” Chimney said.

She grabbed the container, but she made sure to keep her distance.

“Thank you, but you really need to go,” she said weakly.

Chimney felt awful. She was having a hard time talking, so he knew it must’ve taken every ounce of strength she had to walk down the stairs. He definitely wasn’t going to leave then… even if he was going to end up getting sick.

“I’m fine. I’m more worried about you,” he said as he stepped inside.

“Chim, no. You’re going to get sick,” she said as she tried to shut the door, but Chimney grabbed her hand.

“Oh my god, Maddie. You’re so hot…” he trailed off.

“Huh?” Maddie looked at him with the most confused expression on her face.

“Uh, I mean,” he hesitated. “Your skin is hot… you’re burning up. I’m coming in.”

“Chim,” she protested weakly. 

He stepped inside, closed the door, and locked it behind him.

“I just need to check on you,” he whispered.

“Can you take this and put it in the fridge? I can’t eat anything right now. It hurts just to stand here.”

Chimney nodded and went straight to the kitchen. When he came back, Maddie was desperately trying to make it up the stairs, but she was having trouble.

“Maddie!” Chimney said as he rushed over to her.

He held onto her arms, and then he decided that he was just going to pick her up. 

“Hold onto me,” he said quietly.

Maddie opened her mouth to protest, but she immediately closed it and just grabbed onto him. He picked her up in one swift movement and made his way upstairs.

“If you get sick because of me…” Maddie whispered.

“Everyone I work with is sick, so if I do end up getting the flu… it doesn’t mean it’ll be because of you… and besides, it won’t be the end of the world. I’ll be fine.”

Chimney made it to her room and gently put her down on the bed.. He touched her forehead, and he started to get concerned. The thermometer was lying on her table beside the bed, so he picked it up and checked her temperature.

“Have you thought about going to the doctor? Your temperature is high… 102.6,” he said.

She cleared her throat. “I just want to stay home. I took medicine.”

“When did you last take some?”

“About forty-five minutes ago,” she answered.

“How much have you drank today? I don’t want you to get dehydrated.”

“I’ve drank enough.”

Chimney really wanted to ask her more questions because he was worried about her, but be decided against it. Maddie knew exactly what to do. And besides, he knew that she didn’t feel like sitting there answering two-hundred questions. He fluffed up her pillows and covered her up with all three blankets that were on her bed when she laid down. 

Chimney’s hand instinctively went to her forehead. Her temperature was actually making him nervous. He had to mention how worried he was about that… again. He couldn’t help it.

He worried about Maddie when she was healthy and seemed to be happy, so he was definitely having a little trouble trying to act like he was okay as he stood there and looked at her. 

“Maddie, if your temperature gets any higher, you’re going to need to go to the doctor or hospital.”

“The fever will break,” she said weakly. 

“Maddie…”

“I’ll be okay. I promise. I used to be a nurse, remember?” She asked before she gave him a small smile.

Well, shit. 

Even Maddie had picked up on how concerned he was about everything.

“Yeah, but that still isn’t going to stop me from worrying about you,” he said quietly.

“I’ll be back to myself in no time.”

“And I’ll be looking forward to that, but for now, I’m going to take stay here and make sure you’re going to be okay.”

“But Chim,” she whispered.

“No buts,” Chimney said as he sat on the floor right beside the bed. 

Maddie rolled over so she could face him; she grabbed his hand and held it. 

“You really should go. I’ve already spread too many germs.”

Chimney smiled. “A few germs won’t scare me away. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’re gonna be regretting that decision when you’re sick in a few days.”

He shook his head as he stared at her. “No, never… and even if I knew I was going to get sick, I’d still come over anyway.”

“You’re stubborn,” Maddie whispered.

Chimney laughed softly. “No, I just really care about my best friend.”

“I’ve been giving you trouble about coming to see me, but only because I don’t want you to get sick… but thanks for coming over. You’re really sweet,” Maddie said after a few moments of silence.

“You’re welcome,” Chimney said, smiling at her. “Now, you should really try to get some sleep… and I’ll be here when you wake up… because I’m going to give you more medicine and then I’m going to make sure you eat your chicken soup.”

“Okay, Dr. Han, but I have one request.”

Chimney laughed. “And what is that?”

“If you do get sick, you have to let me come over and take care of you too.”

“You’d really do that?” Chimney asked, surprised.

“Yeah. I happen to really care about my best friend too,” Maddie whispered. 

He looked at the floor as he grinned; he didn’t exactly want her to see how happy that sentence made him.

“Well, then… request granted,” he said.

Chimney felt Maddie’s free hand wrap around his wrist. 

“See you in a few hours,” Maddie said, closing her eyes. 

Chimney smiled. “I’ll see you then.”


	14. Day 14: Reunion Hug [Running]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to warn you all that there’s violence and language. Basically this is future fanfic where Doug gets taken care of and Maddie has to talk about what happened, and there’s violence and stuff. But nothing happens to Maddie. It all happens to Doug lolol. And surprisingly, this isn’t cute and soft fluff for once. But don’t worry, I have a lot more adorable stuff coming your way.

Title: Running

 

Maddie left another voicemail on Buck’s phone. That had been the third one in about thirty minutes. She knew it was useless to even keep calling since he was working, but she just continued to call anyway. 

“No luck?” Athena asked from beside her.

Maddie shook her head. She was just about to call again until an officer sat down behind the desk. She shoved her phone in her jacket pocket as he began to speak. 

“Mrs. Kendall, I’m Officer James. I’ll be filling out this report about what happened tonight. Make sure you tell me everything. I know some things might be a little foggy, but try the best you can.”

Maddie let out a little gasp and tears began to fall down her cheeks. She didn't mean to react that way, but she hadn't went by Kendall in months. She hated that name so much.

Athena scooted her chair closer to hers and grabbed her hand. 

She was so thankful that Athena was even there with her; her shift had been over for a while, but she continued to stay there just for Maddie. 

“Maddie or Miss Buckley,” Athena corrected him.

“But Sergeant… the official report. Kendall is her last name.”

“I know what it is, and I know what has to go on that report… but I know she would prefer Maddie or Miss Buckley, so you are going to respect that.”

“Sorry, ma'am,” he said, and then he turned to Maddie. “Okay, Miss Buckley.”

The images of that night flooded into Maddie's brain, and she tried her best to remember it all. She took a few deep breaths before she began to speak.

“I got off work at seven, and I went straight home. I got there at about 7:30, and I started to get ready because I was going out with my friend, Chim… umm Howie Han. But then, I got a text from him telling me that he wasn’t going to be able to hang out tonight because he had to work until a lot later. So, then I tried to distract myself because I had been feeling paranoid for the past few weeks.”

“Paranoid?” Officer James questioned. 

“Yeah, umm, I felt like someone had been watching me or following me… and I was right,” she said as she shrugged.

“Did you ever report it to the police?” He asked.

Maddie shook her head. “No, I didn’t actually know if it was just me being paranoid, or if it was real… so I just told the people who were close to me about it, and I was never home alone for too long. My brother… Evan Buckley or Howie was always with me… but Evan had to stay over at work too.”

The cop nodded, and Maddie took a deep breath. She was starting to get to the hard part.

“So, I was sitting on the couch, and I heard a knock at the door. I wasn’t expecting anyone at all, so I didn’t bother to get up… but I did check to see who it was on the camera app I have. I couldn’t really see them because they had a hat on. I just sat as still as I could and hoped they went away… and then the pounding started, and I just knew it was him… Doug. I began to dial 911, and Doug yelled at me and told me not to… and if I did, he’d kill Chim. He told me that if I thought he was actually working, then I better think again.”

A few tears fell down Maddie’s face, and Athena squeezed her hand.

“Take your time, Maddie. We can sit here all night if we have to,” she told her.

“Before we go on, Howie is referred to as Chim, correct?” the cop asked.

Maddie nodded.

“I didn’t call 911. I froze because I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if Chim was actually at work or not. He could’ve taken him and used his phone to text me. He threatened to kill me before I left him, so doing that definitely wouldn’t have been too much for him. Doug kept screaming at me to let him in within two minutes, and he threatened to hurt Chim if I didn’t. So, I made a decision. I wasn’t going to let him hurt Chim… I couldn’t… so I opened the door… and I immediately realized that he didn’t have Chim at all because Doug called me a stupid bitch as I jumped back when he slammed the door.”

Although Doug had finally found her and had been standing just a few feet from her, Maddie had been relieved that Chim was safe at work. 

God, if anything ever happened to him because of her, Maddie would never forgive herself.

“He told me that he planned to get both of us tonight, but since Chim had to work, he was just going to deal with me first, and then go to him later. I don’t know how he knew he had to work a few extra hours. I guess he tapped his phone. Doug told me he had had Chim’s wallet for months, and he had even been inside his apartment a few times. I don’t know. Doug was smart when it came to things like that. He followed all of us around for months without any of us even realizing it… but anyway, he went to swing at me, and I blocked it and then I hit him. I guess those boxing lessons with my brother paid off. I hit him hard enough to slow him down, so I grabbed my phone and ran up the stairs as fast as I could. I went to my room and locked the door. I called 911 and soon enough, Doug was pounding at the door. He told me that Chim and I deserved what he planned to do to us. He said by the time he got finished with Chim, he would wish he would’ve died in that accident he had…” Maddie said, shaking her head as she began to pick at her nails.

She knew it was awful, but it hadn’t surprised her at all when Doug said any of those things.

Maddie just didn’t understand how one person could be so cruel… so evil that they would hurt others and even go as far as planning to murder them.

Doug was a monster. 

“Miss Buckley?” Officer James asked.

The sound of his voice pulled Maddie out of her thoughts, and she even jumped a little.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“It’s okay, ma’am. I was just checking on you. Take all the time you need.”

Maddie nodded. She took a second to gather her thoughts before she started to talk again. 

“Then, he started calling me things, which is the usual… whore, slut… he called Chim a bastard… he just said all of these terrible things…” Maddie said, letting out a breath.

All his disgusting words circled around her mind, and Maddie’s hands started to shake. She hated thinking about it.

She wasn’t any of those things… neither was Chimney.

God, she hated Doug with everything in her.

“Hey, you know what? You don’t have to repeat those things,” Athena said as she rubbed her hand. “The report will be fine without them.”

Maddie nodded. She was so thankful that she didn’t have to.  
“I grabbed the bat that was sitting in the corner of the room, and Doug had almost gotten in… he had even busted a hole in the door… so, I got ready, because I knew if I didn’t do something, he’d kill me,” she said before the tears really flooded down her face.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized after a moment. 

Athena pulled her in for a quick hug. 

“It’s okay,” she whispered in her ear.

Maddie wiped the tears away and took a few deep breaths. “He got in, and I hit him a few times with it… and he fell down… and then I hit him on his head. I heard the cops outside, so I jumped across his body and ran down the steps… but he was still coming after me. I barely even got out before he caught up to me… and I think everyone else knows the rest.”

Once Maddie had made it safely to the cops, Doug had refused to stand down. He just kept coming and even threatened to kill every last one of them. One cop had to shoot him.

And then, that was it. Doug died. 

The only thing that had ran threw Maddie’s mind as she watched him fall to the ground was that she didn’t have to be scared anymore. She wasn’t going to have to look over her shoulder anymore. She was actually going to be able to live and just exist instead of hiding away from the rest of the world.

She could be or do anything she wanted because no one was going to stop her.

God, she could just be herself. 

She was free. 

“Thank you, Miss Buckley. I think this is all we need from you,” Officer James said before he got up. 

Maddie nodded and turned to Athena. 

“Thank you for being here with me, Athena,” Maddie said, quietly. “Thank you so much.”

Athena pulled her into a hug. “I’m just doing my job… and you’re family now,” she whispered. 

Maddie felt someone touch her shoulder, and she pulled away from Athena. She was surprised to see Buck standing there. She immediately stood up and wrapped her arms around him. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t pick up the phone. I’m so sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay,” Maddie said. “I’m just glad you’re here now.”

Buck pulled away from her. “Let me look at you. Did he hurt you?”

Maddie shook her head. “I’m fine. I’m really tired. I just want to go to sleep.”

Buck pulled her into a hug once again. “I think you should stay somewhere else tonight. I’m going to clean up the house and replace the door… I don’t want you to be there for any of that.”

Maddie didn’t even want to think about going back to her apartment, so she liked that idea.

She knew she would probably plan on moving, but she wasn’t even going to mention it now. She was just going to ask Chimney if she could stay over for a few nights or so, and then she would figure out what to do later.

Chimney…

God, she really wished he was with her.

“Does Chimney know about all of this?”

Buck pulled away from her and looked at the floor for a few seconds. “Yeah, he should be here soon. Bobby made him ride with him, so he could try to at least calm him down a little. He’s worried sick about you. He’s not doing too good.”

“Does- Does he know that I’m okay?” Maddie asked, panic filling her voice. She couldn’t stand the thought of Chimney being worried to the point where he was actually sick.

“He knows. He’s just mad at himself because he wasn’t there with you.”

“It’s not his fault,” Maddie said.

“You’re right, Bobby’s trying to tell him that, but-” Buck tried to say, but Chimney’s voice filled the entire station.

“Maddie!” She heard him shout. 

She looked and he was running down the hall.

“Maddie!” He yelled louder, and she began to make her way to him.

Several cops tried to tell Chimney to slow down, but he didn’t. 

“Hey! Slow down!” One yelled.

And Chimney didn’t listen. Maddie was sure that he didn’t even hear them. He only ran faster. 

Then, the cops ran after him.

Maddie walked faster and tried to tell the cops that Chimney wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, but no one heard her; they were all talking too loud. 

One grabbed him and the rest of the cops tried to get a hold of him. He desperately tried to break free. 

“I didn’t do anything. Let me go, dammit!” He yelled. “Maddie!”

She could hear the panic, frustration, and how bad he wanted to get to her in his voice.

Four cops were holding onto him and even all of them almost weren’t enough to keep him from running.

“What the hell?” Buck shouted.

“Hey!” Athena yelled from behind Maddie. “Let him go right now!”

“Sergeant?” One of them questioned. 

“I said let him go!” She yelled. “He didn’t do anything.”

The cops slowly backed away from him, and he started running to Maddie again. Once he got closer, she could see tears in his eyes.

He put his hands on both sides of her face. “Are you okay?”

Maddie nodded. “Yeah,” she whispered.

He started to cry and his hands began to shake. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”

She grabbed his hands and held them tight. “It’s okay. I’m okay. You’re here now.”

“But it’s not enough. I should’ve been there. I should’ve-” He said before Maddie interrupted him.

“It is enough. It’s not your fault. The important thing is that we’re both okay and we’re together now. That’s the only thing that matters.”

“Maddie, if anything ever happened to you… I can’t lose you,” he said before he began to sob.

No one had ever said that to her before. 

She began to cry too as she placed both of her hands on his cheeks. “Hey, look at me. You’re not going to lose me… ever. I promise you that. Okay?”

Chimney nodded and Maddie pulled him in for a hug. His grip was so tight that it took Maddie by surprise and they both stumbled. Her back hit the wall as she grabbed fistfuls of his shirt.

God, his arms felt like home.

Chimney’s sobs eventually turned into sniffles and Maddie didn’t even let him go. She wasn’t even sure how long they hugged, and she knew that everyone in the police station was watching them, but she didn’t care.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Maddie whispered in his ear. “We’ll be okay.”

And Maddie knew that for a fact. 

She was going to be great.

And with Chimney by her side, she’d be even better.


	15. Day 15: One Talking to the Other's Family Member [The Talk]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Technically, I might be breaking the rules here because Maddie actually isn’t in this one at all. I feel like this is super important though, and I hope we get a scene like this. Also, I know I’ve been writing Buck as weirded out by their relationship, but I also feel like he mostly does that to get on their nerves. He’s so happy for them. It’s just honestly so fun to write him as being disgusted by his sister and one of his friends being in love… because Buck is so funny, and I’m trying to get better with writing dialogue for him, but he’s really fun to write too.

Title: The Talk

 

Chimney sighed as he watched the baseball game. His shift had been so slow, and he was tired of just sitting around. He couldn’t even talk to Maddie because she was working too. 

He missed her. At least he would get to see her later though.

Chimney felt the couch shift beside him and was surprised to see Buck sitting there. He nodded at Chimney before he began to watch the game… and he found that weird. Buck didn’t even like baseball. 

But then again, maybe Buck was as bored as he was.

Buck cleared his throat. “Hey, Chim… can I talk to you about something?”

Chimney turned towards him. “Yeah. What’s on your mind?”

“You and Maddie… you two are actually dating now, right? I heard her say something last night.”

Chimney was actually surprised that Buck had asked instead of assuming. 

He smiled a little and nodded. “We are,” he confirmed. “It happened a couple days ago. Maddie said she was ready to move forward, so that’s what we did.”

Buck nodded slowly. “Okay. I just wanted to be sure.”

Chimney nodded and then Buck was quiet… until about a minute later.

“I was seven when Maddie brought her first boyfriend home. I walked downstairs with some sunglasses and a plastic baseball bat and told him I’d hit him in his balls if he ever made my sister cry… I got in so much trouble that night, not because I was trying to protect my sister, but because of what I said… but it was worth it. And every time I met a new guy in her life, I’d threaten to kick their ass if they ever hurt her. Yeah, she’s older than me, but I just want to protect her. I felt that way when I was seven, and I definitely feel that way now. I think I’m even more protective of her now… and Chim, I’m not talking to you about this because I’m threatening to beat you up, but because I know that I won’t ever have to even think about doing it. I won’t ever have to worry about Maddie as long as she’s with you… because you’re the opposite of all those other guys.”

Chimney was so glad to hear Buck say all those things. He was happy that Buck thought differently of him and had faith in him because he would always treat Maddie right. He would not only be her boyfriend, but her best friend too. He would be anything that she needed him to be. He would do anything she needed him to do. 

Even though Buck already knew what Chimney was going to say next, he decided to say it anyway. Besides, he felt like he needed to say something. 

“Maddie means so much to me, and I will never hurt her. I can promise you that.”

“You don’t have to say those things because I know. You’ll protect her and make sure she’s safe and happy… and the thing is, Chim, you already do all of those things. You’ve been doing it for months. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this happy. She smiles and laughs all the time. Sometimes she even wakes me up in the middle of the night because she’s laughing so loud… and those are the times that I know she’s on the phone with you because no one makes her laugh the way you do.”

Chimney grinned as he looked at the floor. He thought of all the times that he had talked to Maddie on the phone during the middle of the night. It was one of his favorite things to do, and hearing her laugh was one of the greatest things in the world. Making her laugh was so easy because she laughed at literally everything when she was exhausted. 

“And I just wanted to thank you for always being there for her. She’s lucky to have you.”

“I think I’m the lucky one, Buck,” Chimney corrected.

Buck laughed a little. “You are… and I just wanted to say I’m really happy for both of you. I know it might not seem like it because I’m always giving you a hard time about everything, but I really am happy. Protecting Maddie is my job, but being a pain in the ass and aggravating her a little bit is my job too… and since you’re one of my best friends and you’re dating my sister, that automatically makes you a target. So, whenever I talk about you two being a couple, don’t ever take anything I say seriously.”

Chimney smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t have a problem doing that.”

Buck laughed and shook his head. “Good… and uh, can this conversation stay between us?”

Chimney nodded. “Of course, Buck.”

Chimney’s phone vibrated in his pocket, and he hurried up and grabbed it. He grinned when he found out it was a text from Maddie telling him that she missed him. 

“Is that Maddie?” Buck asked.

“Yeah,” Chimney said as he texted her back.

He told her he missed her too.

“Well, I think it’s time for me to leave now, so you can be gross and stuff,” Buck said as he stood up. 

Chimney smiled and shook his head at him.

Buck walked to the top of the stairs and then, he turned around to look at Chimney.

“Thanks, Chim… for everything.”

“You’re welcome,” Chimney said.

He looked at his phone and smiled. He had another message from Maddie.

He was in a great mood, and absolutely nothing could bring him down.


	16. Day 16: Promise [Lay Your Worry Down on Me]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’ve had a rough past couple of days and unfortunately, I really haven’t felt like writing, and I hate when I feel this way because I love to write, but I just don’t have the energy to do so. I honestly wasn’t going to post this at first because I feel like it’s not my best, but I should also stop being so hard on myself. Hopefully, this isn’t as rough as I think it is. But anyway, sorry for the small rant. 
> 
> The title comes from the lyrics from a song called “Lay Your Worry Down” by Milow. I actually found that song the other night and I got the idea for this story while listening to it.

Title: Lay Your Worry Down On Me

 

Chimney cleaned up the mess from their takeout dinner and put the leftovers in Maddie’s refrigerator. He took his time while he did; his thoughts were distracting him. 

Something was definitely wrong with Maddie. They both had been quiet during their whole meal, and that was very unusual for them. They hadn’t even talked about their days at work.

And Chimney was sure that Maddie had been crying before he showed up.

He didn’t know what to do. He really wanted to ask her if she was okay, but he didn’t even know if she would want to talk about what was bothering her. And then, he’d feel terrible for even bringing it up. Chimney didn’t want to cross any lines and make her feel like she had to talk about something. 

Maybe she just needed to be alone. He decided that he was going to ask her if she wanted him to leave. If she didn’t feel like having company, then he definitely didn’t want to stay there and bother her.

He walked back to the dining room and Maddie was still sitting at the table. She was drawing circles on the table with her pointer finger.

Chimney cleared his throat before he spoke. “Maddie?”

She looked up at him and she looked exhausted and sad. Seeing her like that honestly hurt Chimney in more ways than he could describe.

“Do you want me to go?”

Maddie looked up and stared at him for a minute before she shrugged. “I know you didn’t come over to see me like this. I’m sorry I’m not very talkative or happy today.”

Chimney shook his head. “Hey, don’t be sorry. I was only asking if you wanted me to leave because I didn’t know if you wanted to be alone or not. I had to ask because I don’t want to stick around and bother you if you need space right now.”

“You could never bother me, Chim,” Maddie said quietly. 

He gave her half a smile before he made his way over to the table. He stood behind the chair that was diagonal to Maddie’s. 

“I don’t want you to go, but maybe you should,” Maddie said after a few moments of silence.

Chimney tilted his head in confusion, and before he could even ask what she meant, Maddie stood up and rushed out of the dining room. 

He walked quickly behind her, but then he decided to slow down because he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or scare her. 

She was already halfway up the stairs when she stopped to look at him. She shrugged and she shook her head.

“You really should leave. I don’t want to bother you with my problems,” she said, her voice strained. She was obviously trying not to cry.

Maddie ran up the stairs, and Chimney rushed over to them. His left foot was on the bottom stair when he decided that he wasn’t going to run after her… not without her permission.

He had never even been upstairs, and he viewed that as her personal space. He definitely didn’t want to invade it. 

“Maddie,” he said loud enough for her to hear. “If you would’ve told me to leave because you needed space, I would’ve gone as soon as you said the words… but I can’t leave just because you think you’d bother me if you talk about what’s on your mind. You could never bother me.”

He heard sniffling, and he knew she was crying.

“Chim,” she said, her voice breaking. “Worrying about me isn’t supposed to be your job.”

Chimney closed his eyes and gripped the railing. It took every ounce of strength he had to not run up to her.

“I worry about you because I… I care about you so much, and anything you say isn’t going to make me stop. I’ll always worry about you.”

She didn’t say anything, and all Chimney heard was more sniffles.

“Maddie,” he tried again. God, he hoped he wasn’t being too pushy. He didn’t mean to be at all. He just couldn’t stand the fact that she was upstairs alone and crying. 

“In the time that I’ve known you, we’ve had a lot of fun together. If you asked me to tell you about all of my favorite memories with you, we’d be here until next month. There’s been so many good times, and I love every single second with you… but I also need you to realize that I’m just not here for the good times. I’m here for everything… the good, the bad, the ugly… and what I mean is, those inevitable times where we’ll argue, and we’ll be mad at each other for a little bit… but I’m not going to stand here and let you think that you bother me with your problems or that you think I’m not supposed to worry about you. If you need someone to talk to and a shoulder to cry on, then I’m your guy. I’ll be always be that guy for you.”

He heard the floor creak upstairs for a few seconds, but then, it stopped.

“Maddie, you actually have no idea how much I want to run up these stairs to get to you, but I won’t without your permission. I just want to see your face. Please.”

God, he knew he sounded desperate, but he just wanted to comfort her. He just wanted to make her feel okay again.

She appeared at the top of the steps and instead of coming down, she sat at the top of the stairs. She wrapped her arms around her knees.

“You can come up,” she said.

Chimney rushed up the stairs, taking two of them at a time. He sat a few steps below Maddie and turned so he could face her.

She was silent for a minute or so before she spoke.

“You’ll probably think I’m crazy if I say what’s wrong. Even a part of me thinks I am,” she said.

Chimney shook his head. “I won’t. I’d never judge you.”

“I had a bad day. I’ve actually had a bad week. I’ve just been good at hiding it until today… but I’ve always been paranoid about Doug finding me, but the last week or so has been really bad...sometimes when I’m in traffic on my way to work or when I’m at the store, I look around, and I feel like I’m being watched. I haven’t seen him, but I also feel like he’s the one watching me…. I don’t know how to explain it exactly, but when I was with him, I always felt scared, like I had to be prepared to run at all times… and I haven’t felt that way in a while, but I’ve been feeling like that lately. I don’t have proof, and it’s not like I can go get actual help from the police. Four million people live in this city, Chim. They’ll just tell me I’m being too paranoid… and maybe I am. I don’t know.”

Chimney looked at her, and he could see just how scared she was. He hated knowing that she couldn’t do anything without looking over her shoulder.

And if she felt that something was wrong, then he was definitely going to take what she said seriously. 

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she continued. “I’m tired of being scared all the time. I don’t want to run anymore.”

Maddie ran a hand over her face to wipe her eyes. 

Now, Chimney definitely wasn’t one to actually want to inflict pain on others, but he really wanted Doug Kendall to suffer for everything he had done. 

“I don’t want you to run either. Leaving will only make people worry about you more. Maddie, I can’t…” he trailed off. 

He was about to tell her that he couldn’t live without her, but he stopped himself. 

But god, it was true. If Maddie left, he knew he would spend every waking moment wondering if she was safe.

“We can talk to Athena. I know she’ll believe you, and she’ll even keep an eye out for you… and Buck and I can make sure you get to and from work… and I can go with you if you need to go somewhere. We’ll figure it out.”

Maddie let out a breath and shook her head. “But that’s exactly the reason I should leave, Chim. I can’t let all of you take time out of your lives to babysit me. I’m not that important.”

“Maddie, don’t say that. You are important.”

“Not enough for people to waste their lives on me.”

“You are important,” he repeated again. You’re- You’re important to me.”

“But Chim, I can’t let any of you be involved in this. He’ll make sure he hurts everyone who helps… Athena, Bobby, Buck… you. I’m not going to stand around and let him hurt them… and you…” She finished, shaking her head. “I could never forgive myself if something happened to you. I know I keep talking about leaving, but the truth is, I don’t want to. I love it here. I love being with my brother. I love the friends I have, and I’m happy. But I also have to be honest with myself and admit that it does make me selfish for not wanting to leave.”

“Maddie, I don’t understand. How are you selfish by being happy?”

She sniffled and wiped her face again. “Because if I left, I’d definitely be able to protect everyone, but since I’m not leaving, no one’s safe.”

Chimney moved up the stairs so he could sit right beside of Maddie. 

“You’re not selfish.”

“I am,” she whispered before she began to cry. “Because I love you, Chimney, and you’re supposed to want to protect someone you love, and I want to so much, but I also can’t leave because I can’t live without you… but I’m also just setting you up to get hurt if I stay. That’s why I’m selfish.”

Maddie’s words echoed in his brain. 

She loved him.

She wanted to protect him.

And she couldn’t live without him.

It was a lot to take in. He had never heard someone say all three of those sentences to him before.

He just wanted to tell tell her how much he felt the same things for her. 

“Maddie, look at me,” he whispered, slightly out of breath.

She looked at him, and he raised his hand to put it on his cheek… but then he decided that might not have been the best idea, so he rested it on his lap again. Maddie noticed what he was planning to do, and she grabbed his hand and held it.

“You’re not selfish for being happy or being in love… Nothing is going to happen to us. We’ll be fine. There’s only one of him.”

“But you don’t know him,” Maddie argued. “He’s really smart.”

He shrugged. “Well, he doesn’t know us, and I know he’s not smarter than all of us together.”

Maddie shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“I do,” he said. “He’s not going to get past all of us.”

Chimney let out a breath as he stared at their hands. “And I’m glad you don’t want to leave because I can’t live without you.”

He looked up at her. “The one person I’m concerned for is you. Your safety is the only thing that matters to me… because god, Maddie... I love you too.”

She gasped and moved closer to him. Chimney was sure that she was going to kiss him. He stayed as still as he could. She kissed his cheek instead, but she didn’t linger for too long. It all happened so fast that he was still trying to process what happened as she pulled him closer for a hug. 

Maddie Buckley had kissed his cheek, and he definitely wasn’t disappointed because she hadn’t actually kissed him. He just felt lucky that she even wanted to put her lips on his skin.

“I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe,” he said a few minutes later as he was still holding her in his arms. “I already told you that none of this would scare me away. I just wanted to make sure you remembered that.”

“You’re so good to me,” she whispered.

They pulled away from each other, but Maddie immediately scooted as close as she could get to him. She rested her head against his shoulder.

“Everything will be okay. I promise.”

If Chimney was being honest, he usually hated promising people. It seemed like it never worked out. But in this case, he had to make an exception and promise Maddie that everything would be okay because he would make sure it would happen no matter what.

That was one promise Chimney would never break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly love how I made myself emotional by ending this one basically the same way I ended the story in chapter 14, except Chimney was the one who promised this time. But thank you so much for reading. I really appreciate it.


	17. Day 17: Moving in Together [The Future]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look at me. I’m actually posting two in one day.   
> Just a warning, there’s sexual themes at the end. I wouldn’t even consider it mature, I’d say it’s a hard rated T. I just wanted to let you all know though.

Title: The Future

 

Chimney finally finished unpacking all of his things and putting them where they were supposed to go. They had spent all day moving things from his apartment to Maddie’s.

He looked around Maddie’s bedroom(well, it was his room too now. He would have to get used to actually saying it), and a small smile began to form on his face. 

Of course, that definitely wasn’t the first time he had been in her room; he had even spent the night on multiple occasions. 

But actually moving in with her was totally different than just spending a few nights. 

All of his things were now combined with Maddie’s. His shoes were right beside hers… their clothes were in the same closet… their toothbrushes were sitting next to each other. Even though they had already claimed their sides of the bed, that would only become more official now that he had moved in.

And all of their daily routines would be spent together too. They would fall asleep together every night and wake up together every morning. They would eat breakfast and dinner together (they almost always ate together in the evenings anyway). They would even playfully argue about who would get to take a shower first. 

Chimney would also have an opinion in simple things like decorating the house. He could help pick out which color they would paint a room or what kind of furniture they would buy.

They were already attached at the hip, but literally every bit of Maddie’s life was now a part of his too. God, Chimney was so happy about that.

He was happy that they were moving forward in their relationship. He was glad that Maddie had gotten so comfortable around him that she even suggested that he move in with her to begin with.

Truthfully, Chimney was just looking forward to their future together because he honestly intended to spend the rest of his life with her. 

Of course, it was a bit too soon for a proposal, but Chimney was three-thousand percent sure that Maddie was the one he wanted to marry. 

Chimney even got ahead of himself sometimes when he thought about their future. Sometimes when he couldn’t sleep at night, he often wondered what it would be like if they started a family. That was definitely way too soon to think about, but he couldn’t help it. He honestly had never been so serious about wanting a family… not until Maddie.

Chimney laughed a little as he tried to think about something else. He walked over to Maddie’s closet and sighed when he opened it. He actually felt bad because his clothes took up more space than hers. They would definitely have to figure something out and move some of his somewhere else… or get rid of a few. He was sure he could definitely part ways with a lot of it.

“Hey,” he heard Maddie say as she walked into the room. She walked up and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

“Hi,” he said quietly as he touched one of her hands.

Maddie laughed softly a few moments later. “Is there a reason why you’re staring at the closet?”

Chimney smiled. “I uh, I was just thinking that my clothes take up more space than yours… and that’s not fair. I could move some of them into the closet in the extra bedroom or get rid of some.”

Maddie moved her hands up and down Chimney’s chest. “You’re not getting rid of your clothes.”

“Well, what about the closet in the other bedroom? Can I put them there? It’s only fair that you get half the space in the closet,” he pointed out. 

“You don’t have to do that either. I don’t care how much space your clothes take up. My clothes and I will be fine.”

Chimney sighed, and Maddie stepped back so she could grab his arm. She turned him around. 

She smiled. “You’re really worried about that closet space.”

Chimney shrugged and gave her half a smile.

“And that’s one of the many reasons why I love you, Chim. You worry about me, even if it’s over something simple. You actually don’t know how loved it makes me feel.”

He was glad that she felt loved. She deserved all the love and happiness in the world, and he hoped he could always be able to give her those things.

Maddie moved closer and kissed him; he began to get butterflies. He wasn’t surprised that after all that time they had been together and all the kisses they had shared, he still reacted that way… because Maddie’s kisses were literally the best. The way she kissed him so lovingly and tenderly always made him weak in the knees. 

“I love you,” he said after they pulled away.

Maddie smiled. “You know, I was just thinking about how happy I am that you moved in with me.”

“I’m really happy too.”

“Because now we don’t have to drive across the city just to see each other, and we can always eat together… even breakfast. We’ll always be together if we’re not at work. We’ll always sleep together. And speaking of sleeping…” she trailed off.

She grabbed Chimney’s hand and guided him to the bed as she walked backwards.

“Now, if I want to have sex, I don’t have to call you to tell you to come over…”

Chimney laughed. “Now that, is a very good thing.”

He thought of all the times she had called him because she wanted to have sex. There were actually a few times where he had left her apartment and was already back at his when she called, and he still drove all the way across the city to get back to her. 

Maddie grabbed the bottom of his shirt and slowly lifted it over his head.

“I can just tap you on your shoulder whenever I want and tell you to take me upstairs and make love to me,” she said.

Maddie kissed him, and Chimney grabbed her shirt. They broke away long enough for him to get it off of her.

They kissed until they were both out of breath, and Maddie grabbed his arm and gently pushed him on the bed. He scooted up until his head hit the pillows. 

Maddie crawled her way up the bed to him, and Chimney’s mouth fell open as he watched her.

God, she was so beautiful. 

And he hadn’t even thought about the fact that they could have sex whenever they wanted, but since Maddie had mentioned it, it was definitely another thing he was looking forward to now that they were going to be living together.


	18. Day 18: Valentine's Day [Valentine's Day]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, I was going to post this by itself, but I also desperately needed to post to this challenge thing, so I was like “oh, well. I’m just going to post it here.” This is super long, and Buck is in the first half of it. I really love writing Buck and Chimney teasing/annoying the hell out of each other. It’s so fun. I actually love writing Buck too, to be honest. 
> 
> This is for my favorite Chimney/Maddie shippers who I talk to on Twitter/Instagram. I’m sure you know who you are, and the newest shipper, who happens to be one of my favorite people on Twitter, Mad.

Day 18: Valentine’s Day  
Title: Valentine’s Day

 

Chimney sighed as he turned the corner to the aisle that had all the Valentine’s day items. 

He hadn’t done this in a while, not even with Tatiana. Valentine’s day had long passed by the time they had started dating, and then they had broken up before the holiday came around again.

Chimney tried to calculate how long it had actually been since he had bought someone gifts for this holiday, but he couldn’t even remember. He guessed that it had been about three years, but a part of him felt like it had been longer.

But this year on Valentine’s day, he was actually going to have someone to spend it with: Maddie. 

Now, they definitely weren’t celebrating it as a couple. They were still friends; they both only agreed to be each other’s Valentines, so they wouldn’t feel so lonely and left out.

Maddie had been the first one to suggest it. Chimney had been getting ready to leave her house the day before, and she had asked him what he was going to be doing for Valentine’s Day… and when he had told her that he definitely didn’t have anything special to do, she had smiled and suggested that they should hang out and give each other gifts. He definitely hadn’t expected it, and the fact that Maddie wanted him to even be her Valentine to begin with, made him all warm inside. It made him feel special.

But as Chimney stood there and looked at the bears and all of the candy, he only grew more nervous. He honestly didn’t know what to buy. He didn’t want to pick out something that had one of those weird, cheesy expressions about love on it and make Maddie feel weird about it. And he also didn’t want to make it seem like he didn’t just run to the store and grab something really fast and run out. He wanted Maddie to think that he cared… because god, he cared about her so much. He just wanted her gifts to be perfect.

“Chim?” He heard someone say from down the aisle.

It was Buck. 

His eyes widened. Out of all the places in LA, he just had to end up at the same place as Maddie’s brother. Great.

Chimney nervously shoved his hands in his pockets and turned around to face him as he walked down the aisle. He wasn’t sure why he was acting like he had been caught committing a crime, but he just didn’t want Buck to get the wrong idea.

“Hey, Buck,” Chimney said.

Buck was only a few feet away from him now.

“What are you doing here?” Buck asked.

Chimney shrugged and gave him a small smile. “I’m here to get some gifts.”

Buck had a questioning look on his face. “For… Maddie?”

He sighed before he decided to answer. “Yeah, for Maddie.”

“So, that’s why she was so excited earlier,” Buck said.

Chimney’s brows raised. “Wait, she was?” He asked, and he couldn’t stop the grin that slowly begun to form on his face.

Buck shrugged. “Yeah, but it is your first official holiday together as a couple, so…” he trailed off.

“No, Buck. We’re not together,” Chimney corrected.

“So, then what is this? Why are you here?” Buck said as he pointed at some teddy bears on the shelf.

“Maddie’s my Valentine, but not like that. We’re just friends,”

“You mean the type of Valentines kids have in third grade where the whole class brings in cards for each other?” Buck asked.

Chimney laughed. “Something like that.”

“Okay, then,” Buck said before he began to slowly walk down the aisle and look at the items on the shelf.

“Why are you here?”

“For Christopher. Eddie has a few surprises planned for him today when he gets home from school, and I wanted to get him something too.”

Chimney slowly nodded as he watched Buck bend over and grab a teddy bear off the shelf.

“This is the one I’m getting,” he said as he held it out to show Chimney.

He shook his head and smiled when he realized what the bear was wearing.

“A bear dressed as a firefighter?” Chimney questioned.

Buck grinned. “It’s cute, right?”

“If you say so,” Chimney said.

“Wait,” Buck said seriously. “What do you mean? Is this not okay? I just want Christopher to like it.”

Chimney looked at him and could tell just how much it all meant to him.

“Hey, Buck. I was only kidding. I think Christopher will love it.”

Buck glanced at the bear before he looked up at Chimney and nodded. 

“I think he will too,” Buck said.

A pink bear caught Chimney’s eye and he went over to pick it up.

“So, what kind of candy are you going to get for Christopher. Make sure it’s chocolate. Every kid loves chocolate.”

“Eddie told me to not get him any candy because he’ll bring home enough from school, and he’s going to have ice cream later…”

“Oh okay,” Chimney said.

“Uh, Chim?” Buck asked from right beside him. 

“Yeah?”

“I thought you and Maddie were just friends?”

Chimney looked over at Buck in confusion. “We are?” He said in the form of a question.

“Then, why are you holding a bear that has ‘you’re sexy’ written on the front of it?” Buck asked as he pointed at the bear.

“What?” Chimney asked as he looked closer.

And then he saw it.

He yelped and literally threw the bear down the aisle. 

Buck laughed beside of him and Chimney began to blush. He was already suspicious of them being in a relationship, and that only made things worse.

“Why did you just throw that?” Buck asked.

“I don’t- I don’t know,” Chimney said quickly. “I didn’t even know that there were any words on the bear.”

Buck laughed as he walked away. He picked up the bear and made his way back to Chimney.

“Are you sure you don’t want to buy this?” Buck asked as he playfully shoved it in Chimney’s direction.

“No, I don’t,” Chimney answered as he moved slowly down the aisle.

“It’s a cute bear,” Buck said.

“Yeah, I guess so, but it isn’t something I should give to Maddie. It’s not appropriate, and besides, I’ve never even called her beautiful, so giving her that bear would be a little extreme,” Chimney said as he turned around to face him.

Buck tilted his head in confusion, and Chimney felt like he needed to explain. 

“But I do think she’s beautiful… really beautiful. I’ve just never told her,” Chimney said as he shrugged. 

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Buck asked.

“I don’t know,” Chimney said softly.

A few people entered the aisle, and Chimney and Buck moved to the side.

“I just don’t want to say something that she won’t like… and I’m also just too nervous.”

“Chim, I don’t think that calling her beautiful would make her mad… and since when were you nervous about anything?”

He sighed. “Since I have someone in my life that I really care about and don’t want to lose.”

“Tell her she’s beautiful. She’ll love it. All women do,” Buck said, shrugging.

“You know what, Buck? I’m not about to take advice from you, especially when it’s about women.”

“Hey! I know all about women… a little,” Buck defended himself.

“If you say so, Buck. If you say so,” Chimney said.

“When are you two going to stop pretending that you don’t like each other?”

Chimney shook his head as he looked at Buck.

“I’m not pretending that I don’t like her. She knows how much I care about her, but I’m trying to give Maddie the respect that she deserves. I don’t want to cross lines. Being her friend and never dating her means more to me than screwing all of this up and losing her,” Chimney explained.

Buck nodded slowly. “I don’t think you could screw this up or lose her. She likes you as much as you like her… even I can see it.”

Chimney felt butterflies in his stomach as he smiled. 

 

“But you already know that, don’t you?”

Chimney laughed softly. “Uh, yeah… sort of. I’ve already told her that I would wait for whenever she’s ready. I’m not rushing her into this. I’ll always be there for her.”

“Can I be honest with you, Chim?”

He nodded.

“I wish that she would’ve met you a long time ago. Everything would be so much different.”

Chimney gave him a sad smile. “Me too, Buck.”

The aisle was getting more crowded, and Chimney definitely needed to start figuring out what he was going to buy. 

Chimney cleared his throat. “So, I should really…” he trailed off as he pointed behind him.

“Okay, let’s do it,” Buck said.

“What? No, you’re not hanging around with me. Don’t you have something to do?”

Buck shrugged. “I have time… and I might be able to help out. You obviously can’t read since you tried to pick out a bear that said ‘you’re sexy’ on it.”

“Buck….”

“But can’t I just stay and watch?”

“Okay, but I really don’t want to go and tell Maddie that her brother helped me pick out her gifts.”

“I said I only wanted to observe. You don’t even have to tell her you saw me, okay? I’ll even be quiet.”

“Yeah, the quiet part will never happen,” Chimney said as he turned to look at the bears again.

A light blue bear with a ribbon around its neck and a heart on its stomach caught Chimney’s eye. Maddie really liked that color, so he thought it was a good idea to get it. 

He grabbed it and walked further down the aisle. He saw some blankets and remembered how Maddie told him that a person could never have too many of them.

He looked at the selection of blankets they had and ended up going with a white blanket that had multicolored hearts all over it.

Chimney turned the corner to go to the next aisle where there were more items. He started grinning when he saw a bag of gummy worms. He picked those up.

“I hate gummy worms,” Buck spoke up.

Chimney laughed. “I know.”

“Did Maddie tell you why?”

Chimney nodded before he chuckled.

“I was four. How was I supposed to know that they weren’t actual worms? It scared me. I thought Maddie was eating worms.”

“Buck, I’ve never seen any blue, red, orange, or yellow worms.”

“I was four! I’ve been weirded out by them ever since.”

Chimney shook his head and smiled.

He didn’t know if he should’ve gotten a box of chocolates or just different kinds of candy. He ended up going with both because Maddie deserved the best. She definitely wasn’t picky when it came to sweets, but Chimney made sure to get all of her favorites: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups that were heart shaped, a huge Kit Kat that was shaped into a heart, Hershey Kisses, and Twizzlers.

Chimney’s hands were starting to get really full, and he heard Buck try to stifle a laugh from beside him.

“Are you trying to buy their whole Valentine’s selection?” Buck asked.

Chimney sighed. “I knew you couldn’t be quiet that long.”

“I have an idea,” Buck said before he walked away.

Chimney stood there in confusion for a few seconds until Buck came back with a basket that was metal. “Happy Valentine’s Day” was printed over and over again.

“Okay, so instead of showing up with your hands full, why don’t you use something like this and organize everything and make it all look nice?”

A smile began to form on Chimney’s face.

“I like that,” he said.

Buck held out the basket and Chimney dumped all of the stuff inside.

“See? I bet you’re glad I’m here now,” Buck said, flashing him a grin. “You wouldn’t even have that basket if it weren’t for me.”

Chimney shook his head.

“Are you finished?”

Chimney shrugged. He honestly wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know. I think I should get more things. I don’t know if this is good enough.”

“Get some balloons and a card and tell her how you feel,” Buck suggested.

“I don’t think that-” He tried to say, but Buck interrupted him.

“I’m not saying to tell her you’re in love with her. Just tell her how much she means to you and how much you like being her friend.”

Chimney stared at Buck for a few seconds before he smiled. He was actually glad that Buck decided to stick around.

“I like that,” Chimney said after a few seconds of silence. “And Buck?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you’re here. Thank you.”

Buck let out a dramatic gasp. “I can’t believe you’re thanking me.”

Chimney laughed. “Take the compliment, Buck.”

They began to make their way to the Valentine’s cards, and Buck continued to be dramatic.

“I can’t believe I got a ‘thank you’ from Howie Han,” he said.

Chimney turned around and Buck almost ran into him.

“Call me Howie one more time and I’ll take back all the nice things I said,” Chimney threatened as he began to walk again. 

“Okay, damn. You’re welcome, Chimney,” Buck said, emphasizing his name. “But you’re practically my brother-in-law now.”

Chimney laughed. “No, I’m not.”

The aisle that the cards were in was crowded. They both squeezed their way through everyone and began to browse for a card. 

“So, even after you officially become my brother-in-law, I still can’t call you by your real name?”

“No, you never call me Howie. Ever, even if I become your brother….” He couldn’t even finish.

He and Maddie weren’t even together yet. Hell, he didn’t even know if they ever would get to that point. 

“What do you mean if?” Buck asked, getting defensive.

Chimney groaned. Buck was getting on his last nerve.

“I think the real question that should be asked here is if you and Maddie are actually siblings. Both of you are so different.”

“Are you calling me annoying?” Buck asked.

“Maybe I am, Buck.”

He laughed. “I do like to get under people’s skin, and it’s really fun to get under yours… but to answer your question, Maddie and I are definitely siblings. You just haven’t been around for one of our arguments.”

“Yeah, I have… sort of. I was on the phone with her that one time when you two argued about the tv remote. She blamed you for losing it, but she accidentally carried it up to the bedroom because I… distracted her… and she wasn’t paying attention because she was laughing. Wait, are you saying that Maddie is annoying?”

Buck smiled. “That one wasn’t too bad. We’ve had worse arguments… and yes, Maddie is definitely one of the most annoying people on the planet.”

“Okay, that sounds like something a five year old would say.”

“Well? She is.”

Chimney shook his head. “No, she isn’t.”

“She is.”

“Alright, Buck. We’re not arguing about this.”

“So, you don’t think she’s annoying when she can’t figure out what she wants to do… or what she wants to eat or watch?”

“No, it’s definitely not annoying. It’s really cute. She’s really cute,” Chimney admitted, looking away from Buck.

“Okay. Umm, eww. I’m going to shut up now,” Buck said in disgust.

“Perfect,” Chimney said, grinning at Buck.

Chimney found a card that was silver and had roses and hearts all over it. He put the basket down and looked inside of it. It had “Happy Valentine’s Day” written on the inside. He decided to go with that one. He put it in the basket and picked it up. 

“Okay. Now I just have to get the balloons and…” he trailed off as another thought popped into his mind. “Roses. I have to get roses. I can’t believe I forgot about those.”

Buck laughed from behind him. “Alright.”

The balloons were right next to the aisle with the cards; Chimney grabbed six balloons that were all heart-shaped.

“Six? Are you trying to float to the apartment?” Buck joked.

Chimney laughed. Maybe six was a little too much. He put three of them back and made his way to the roses. They were in the front. Chimney’s hands were full, so Buck picked up the roses for him. They made their way to the register to wait in line and waited for about five minutes.

“Give me the bear,” Chimney said right before it was his turn to pay.

“Why?” Buck asked.

“I’m going to pay for it… and in exchange, I want to make a deal with you.”

“What kind of deal?”

“You can’t tell Maddie about how we were at the same store…” 

“I already told you I’m not going to tell her,” Buck said.

“I’m not finished. I mean, you can’t tell her anything… and especially not the sexy bear incident.”

“Awee, come on, Chim!” Buck complained. “The bear thing was funny.”

“Buck, I’m asking you for one thing here. Please?” Chimney asked.

Buck sighed and picked up a Snickers bar. “Buy this for me, and we’ve got a deal.”

Chimney smiled. “Deal.”

They both put all of their things on the conveyor belt. Chimney had to hold down the balloons so the cashier could scan them. 

“Wow. Someone’s going to have a very good Valentine’s day,” the man at the register said.

“I really hope so,” Chimney said softly.

“That’ll be 92.72,” the man said a few moments later as he began to bag the items.

Chimney gave the balloons to Buck so he could give the cashier the money.

“Have a good Valentine’s day,” he said as he gave the receipt and change to Chimney.

“Oh, he will,” Buck said, flashing a smile at the man.

Chimney let out a dramatic sigh as he grabbed the bags. Before they were even out of the store, he gave Buck the bear he got for Christopher and his Snickers bar. He gave Chimney the balloons back.

“Wait… are you going back to the apartment?” Chimney asked.

He really hoped he wasn’t. He just really wanted them to be alone when they gave each other their gifts.

Buck shook his head. “Nah, I’m just going to go ahead and go to Eddie’s.”

Chimney nodded. 

“Hey, uh, I really do hope that you have a good evening,” Buck said.

“I hope you do too,” Chimney said.

“I’ll see you later,” Buck said as they parted ways.

“Bye, Buck.”

Chimney walked to his car and took a deep breath. Every time he bought balloons, they ended up always floating away somehow. He had to make sure that wasn’t going to happen this time, so he decided that he was going to tie the balloons to the basket. He opened the backdoor, and hurriedly tied each balloon to it. Then, he just decided to go ahead and put everything in it.

He put the bear in there first and put the blanket in front of it. Then, he stacked the candy around the bear and put one of the boxes of chocolate in the bear’s lap. He laid the roses beside the basket; he was just going to carry those instead.

And then there was the card… Chimney had to figure out what he was going to write.

Chimney settled the basket against the seat and made sure it wasn’t going to fall on the floor.

He grabbed the card and the envelope, shut the door, and opened the driver door. Once he got in, he grabbed a pen and the car manual out of the glove compartment, so he could have something to put the card on as he wrote.

Chimney sighed. “Uh,” he whispered to himself as his he nervously moved his legs up and down.

He had so many things to say to Maddie, but he didn’t know what he actually wanted to say. One wrong thing could make everything awkward.

He opened the card and began to write:

[Maddie. 

I’m honored that you even asked me to be your Valentine today. You have no idea how happy that makes me. And I hope that I can make you happy today too. 

I also hope you know that you’re the best friend that I’ve ever had.

Seriously, you’re the best.

Love, Chimney]

Chimney’s eyes widened when he saw what he had put on the last line.

“Love, Chimney.”

He really hoped that wasn’t too much. 

A part of him wanted to just hide the card and never show her, and he actually almost decided that until he had just said “screw it” and put the card in the envelope. He wrote Maddie’s name on the back of it and turned around to put it in the basket.

He threw the car manual and the pen over on the passenger seat before he put his seatbelt on. Chimney sent a quick text to Maddie to tell her that he was on his way. Within seconds, he received a text back; she said that she was excited to see him.

He started his car and began to make his way to Maddie’s apartment.

As soon as he pulled out of the parking lot, he was stuck behind about ten cars waiting for the light to change.

Traffic didn’t usually bother him, but it definitely did today. He wanted to get to Maddie’s as fast as possible.

She was excited to see him, and he was definitely excited to see her.

It seemed like every red light in the city had it out for Chimney. He had to stop at every single one of them. It took about twenty-five minutes for him to get to her house.

He parked out in front of the apartments. He looked at himself in the mirror, and he looked decent. At least his hair wasn’t sticking up or there wasn’t any dirt on his face. He grabbed the basket and the roses and made his way to Maddie’s.

He took a deep breath before he rung the doorbell. He couldn’t believe that he was so nervous. It was just like any other day. He and Maddie were just going to hang out. The only difference was, there were going to be gifts involved.

“I’m coming!” He heard Maddie shout from inside.

As soon as she opened the door, Chimney’s mouth fell open and he literally stopped breathing for a second.

Maddie looked amazing.

She was wearing a red dress that ended just a little above her knees, and she had curled her hair.

The only thing that had made him focus again was Maddie saying his name. He cleared his throat before he began to speak.

“I, uh, I’m clearly underdressed,” he said.

Maddie smiled and shook her head. “Don’t be silly. You look great. I only dressed up like this because I wanted to look nice today.”

“Oh, you definitely do,” Chimney said quickly, but his eyes widened. “I mean… you look really beautiful, Maddie.”

He was so embarrassed. He hadn’t exactly meant to say those things, but Maddie didn’t seem to mind. She actually giggled a little.

“Come in,” she said.

Chimney cleared his throat and handed her the roses after she shut the door. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said softly.

“Chim,” Maddie said, a smile forming on her face. “You know, you could’ve just gotten me the roses and I would’ve been happy. You really didn’t have to do all of this for me.”

Chimney shrugged. “Hey, you’re my Valentine. I had to. You only deserve the best today.”

Maddie smiled, showing all of her teeth. She even looked like she was blushing a little.

“I’m going to carry this to the table for you, so you can see what I got you.”

“Okay,” Maddie said softly.

They made their way to the dining room, and Chimney placed the basket on the table.

“I’m going to find something to put these in,” she said, referring to the roses.

She went to the kitchen and returned with a vase about a minute later. She put it on the table and shyly looked at the basket. 

Chimney could have sworn that he smelled cookies…

“Have you been baking?” He asked.

Maddie smiled. “Maybe. Maybe not… and these balloons are really cute. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The first thing she picked up was the envelope.

“Wait. Can you read the card last?” Chimney asked.

“Umm, of course,” she said as she put it on the table.

“Gummy worms!” Maddie said excitedly. “Oh my god, Chim. You literally got all of my favorite candy.”

She was excited, and Chimney thought it was the best damn thing he had ever seen.

Chimney was about to say something, but Maddie gasped.

“This blanket is so cute! And this bear! It matches my light blue button up shirt.”

He nodded. “The one that you wore when I first met you.”

“You actually remember that?” Maddie asked, surprised.

“Yeah, of course I do,” he answered.

He remembered everything about that day; it was truly one of the best days of his life. Meeting Maddie had changed everything. It had changed him.

“All of this is amazing. You’re amazing,” she said a few seconds later before she began to smile. 

Chimney found himself blushing as Maddie picked up the envelope.

“Should I read this out loud?” She asked.

He shook his head quickly. “Please don’t. It’s bad… well, not bad, but not good either.”

“Chimney, I’m sure it’s really sweet.”

Maddie opened the envelope and took the card out.

“It’s really pretty,” she said before she opened it.

Chimney watched her closely as she read it, and she went from smiling, to blushing… and he was sure she had even teared up a little. She put the card on the table and walked over to him.

She sniffled a few times before she spoke. 

“I was right, it was really sweet… but you did get one small thing wrong,” she said.

“I- I did?” Chimney whispered.

She smiled a little as she nodded. “Yeah. You’re actually the best.”

Maddie pulled him into a hug, and he couldn’t stop smiling. 

“Thank you for all of this. I appreciate all of this so much.”

Chimney didn’t say anything; his grip around her tightened.

“Now, it’s your turn,” she said after they pulled away from each other. “And I feel bad because I didn’t put anything in a basket or get you a card or anything like that.”

“Maddie, I don’t care. You didn’t even have to get me anything.”

“What was that thing you said a few minutes ago? Oh, yeah. You’re my Valentine, so I had to. You deserve the best. You definitely do, Chim.”

Chimney shyly looked at the floor and avoided her gaze. Maddie was definitely making him feel so special.

“So, umm, stay here,” Maddie said before walked to the kitchen.

She came back a few seconds later with two different containers.

“Okay, so this is the first part. You kind of guessed that I was baking when you walked in, so… you’re right. I was.”

“Maddie, you didn’t have to spend all that time making something for me. You could’ve just gone to the store and bought something.”

“I know, but what’s the fun in that?”

Chimney grinned. He really appreciated the fact that Maddie actually took the time to make something for him at home. It was so thoughtful.

Maddie put both containers on the table; she opened one of them and sighed.

“These are chocolate chip cookies. They’re good, I tried them, but they look very ugly. I tried to make them heart-shaped, and a couple of them actually look okay… but most of them either turned into some other weird shape or broke in half… and now they look like broken hearts, and I’m so sorry about that.”

Chimney laughed. “My mouth and stomach don’t care what shape they are, so it’s definitely okay.”

Maddie put the lid on that container and moved to open the second one.

“So, I heard about the incident that happened at the firehouse… the drugs in the brownies… and how no one even saved you any, which was actually for the best, but anyway, I made you fudge brownies with nuts. I can assure you that there are no drugs in these brownies; the only things in these are nuts, fudge, chocolate, eggs, you know, all of that good stuff…”

Chimney was smiling so big that his face hurt. He rushed over to Maddie and hugged her. 

“You know what the best things about these brownies are?” She asked.

“No drugs in the brownies?” Chimney guessed.

Maddie laughed. “Okay yeah, umm, you’re right. I mean the second best thing…”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to share them with anyone. They’re all yours.”

“Very true, but I’ll share them with you.”

“Chim…” Maddie whispered as she rested her head on his shoulder.

If Chimney had been hugging anyone else, it would’ve gotten awkward very fast, but he loved hugging Maddie. He could honestly hug her for hours.

“Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome.”

Maddie stepped back shortly after and smiled at him.

“Close your eyes,” she said.

He immediately closed them without asking any questions.

He heard Maddie’s footsteps through the apartment. He felt her go by him and heard the sound of plastic bags and Maddie putting things on the table.

“You better not peaking, Mr. Han,” he heard her say.

Chimney laughed. “I’m not.”

“You can look now,” Maddie said a few moments later.

He opened his eyes and there were at least twenty packs of gum on the table.

“The cashier at the store I went to thinks I have a thing for gum. I told them that my friend is the one who really loves gum, not me, but I don’t think she believed me… but I literally got every kind they had.” 

Chimney smiled. “I really love the fact that you got me all of this because I actually ran out of gum today, so these should last a while.”

“Good,” Maddie said. “Now, on to the last part.”

“There’s more?” Chimney asked.

She bent over and picked up a huge metal tin. “Die Hard” was engraved on the front of it.

“Maddie… what is that?” Chimney asked, excitement growing in his voice.

She put it on the table and smiled at him.

“I know you already have a few of the Die Hard movies, but this is a collector’s edition. It contains every movie and there’s a ton of deleted scenes, bonus features, and interviews with with each cast from the movies… but there’s more.”

“What?” Chimney asked a little too loudly. 

He was so excited he couldn’t even speak properly.

“I’m sorry I opened it already… I just wanted to see what these things looked like, but…” she trailed off and opened the tin. “It comes with a poster of John McClane and a shirt with his face on it.”

“Oh my god. Oh my god. Maddie!” He said as he grabbed the poster and unfolded it as quickly and carefully as he could.

It was a poster of John McClane from the first movie.

“Ohhhhh,” Chimney said, trying to catch his breath. “This is definitely going up in my living room.”

He folded the poster back up and grabbed the shirt. He gasped when he saw the front of it.

“That’s John McClane, Maddie! Look at him! I can’t believe I get to walk around with John McClane on my body! Oh my god, Maddie.”

“I don’t think I have to ask if you like it…” She said, smiling.

“Maddie, I love it. I love everything.”

“Even the broken heart cookies?”

“Yes, even those… come here,” Chimney said softly. 

Maddie walked over to him, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“Thank you so much… for everything,” Chimney whispered.

“You’re welcome, Chim. Can I say something?”

“You can say anything,” he said.

“You’re really cute when you’re excited.”

He was so glad that she couldn’t see his face because he was definitely blushing.

“I could say the same thing about you,” he said.

“Chim?” Maddie whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Close your eyes.”

“I thought there weren’t anymore surprises?” Chimney questioned.

“There is… just one more,” she promised. “Do you trust me?”

“Maddie, you know I do.”

He trusted her more than anyone in the world.

She pulled away from him and gave him half a smile.

“Close your eyes.”

He did what she asked, and his heart began to race. Something told him that he was closing his eyes for a different reason.

And his suspicions were confirmed when he felt Maddie’s hot breath hit his face.

Oh god. She was close.

Chimney let out a breath. “Maddie,” he whispered.

“Chim…” 

Chimney parted his lips, and his breaths were uneven. 

No matter how much he tried to deny it, it didn’t matter. He wanted to kiss her so badly.

Maddie’s lips touched his bottom one, and he definitely hadn’t been expecting it. He moaned softly, and she gasped.

Chimney expected her to pull away, but she didn’t; he could tell that she was still only inches away from him.

Maddie’s lips touched his again, and he was ready for it this time. He actually responded to the kiss, and god… he was sure that he wouldn’t ever experience anything better than the way he felt when he was kissing her. 

It was amazing.

It was lovely.

It was far better than anything he could have ever imagined.

She pulled away, but only for a split second, before she kissed him again.

But this time, the kiss was more intense… and Chimney was having a hard time even thinking, but he made sure he stayed as still as he could.

Maddie moaned, and Chimney’s whole body was on fire.

She pulled away right after that, and he knew that it was over. In a way, Chimney was kind of glad she did. If they had continued kissing, then it definitely could’ve turned into something else.

He finally opened his eyes, and Maddie was halfway across the room. She took deep breaths as she looked at him. 

“That was umm…” she trailed off.

Maddie looked at Chimney almost like she was scared, and he needed her to know that she didn’t have to be. They kissed, but Maddie needed to stop. It was as simple as that. Chimney loved kissing her, and he definitely wanted to do it again… but he cared about how she felt more. Nothing was more important than Maddie’s feelings.

And if he had to wait for her to be ready to kiss him again, then he would.

“That wasn’t a mistake,” he said.

He just hoped she wasn’t going to say that because he felt like it wasn’t. The way he had felt while he had kissed her… there was no way that could’ve been a mistake.

Maddie laughed nervously. “I don’t think that at all either. I was going to say that it was really great.”

“It was really great for me too.”

“So, everything’s okay?”

Chimney nodded. “If everything’s okay for you, then everything’s great for me.”

Maddie smiled and looked relieved. They began to stare at each other, and Chimney knew what was exactly on her mind because he was thinking about the same thing: all he wanted to do was kiss her.

“I don’t think I can do that again… not right now. I got a little carried away, and I can’t…” she trailed off.

“Hey, it’s okay. I understand, Maddie. Don’t worry.”

She nodded slowly and gave him a small smile. 

“So, do you want to dive into those Die Hard movies?” She asked.

Chimney smiled. “You know, you don’t actually have to put yourself through that again, especially since we’ve already watched all of them.

“I know, but they’re fun to watch.”

“Only if you want to,” Chimney said.

“Of course I want to.”

“So, are we starting from the beginning?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Chimney grabbed the DVD out of the tin.

“Do you want to eat the cookies or the brownies?”

“Umm… the gummy worms.”

Chimney laughed. “Or the gummy worms; that’ll work too. I’ll eat the brownies.”

He grabbed the container of brownies while Maddie grabbed the gummy worms. They made their way to the living room, and Chimney got the movie ready. He sat down beside Maddie and took a bite of a brownie.

“These might actually be the best brownies I’ve ever had.”

“Stop,” Maddie said softly.

“I’m not kidding. They’re really great.”

“I’m really glad you like them.”

“How’s the gummy worms?”

“Gummy,” she answered.

Chimney laughed. “I’m glad to hear that.”

He pressed the “play” button and the opening credits appeared on the screen. He looked over at Maddie, and they both smiled at each other.

He was happy, she was happy, and damn, it was a beautiful thing. 

It was definitely the best Valentine’s Day he had ever had in his entire life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Chimney’s love for Die Hard is actually the cutest thing. It makes me really happy because he’s literally like a hardcore stan, and it just makes him that much more relatable because I know what it’s like to be a hardcore stan. ANYWAY, thank you so much for reading!!


End file.
